Alone in a Crowded Room
by Zeraphie
Summary: AU. Yugi Mutou has become the target of harassment thanks to one lunch incident involving Atemu Yamino. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do with a guy you live with. YYxY. KxJ, MxM, and BxR. Yaoi.
1. Four Letter Word

_Disclaimer: _I'll own Yugioh! when I turn eighty-five. Seventy-something more years to go? Boo.

**--**

**Chapter 1: **Four-Letter Word

--

Atemu sneezed. Then, he growled. Technically, it was a sneeze-growl. "ACHgrrrugh…"

Crimson eyes darkened with discontent, and slender fingers raked through black hair. His head pulsed violently, like a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any second. That was how he, Atemu Yamino felt right now. Another growl left his throat, vibrating throughout his whole entire body. Atemu sunk lower in his seat and rested his head behind him.

His navi vibrated in his pocket, and he decided to count each soft _ping._ One…two…fifteen….thirty-five…

"FUCKING SHIT JUST TAKE ME HOME!" Crimson eyes burst open and Atemu lunged for the door.

"Master Atemu," a light voice sighed next to him before attempting to hold the poor teenager back, "You're in a moving car and I'd appreciate it if you didn't kill yourself. Your father would have my head for it."

"Fuck that shit," Atemu snarled, but he gave in quickly. Sitting down, he pinched the bridge of his nose and reached for a tissue. For two days, he'd been stuck at home sick with a cold. It was rare for someone with his physique to be handicapped in such a way, but the once in a blue moon chance he did, his sickness would hit him hard.

He would have been at home, curled up in one of his fine comforters and sleeping away the day before sneaking out sometime in the afternoon to do something more productive. Of course, with extra strength meant extra weakness and it was only today that he could actually push himself out of bed without falling over and moaning for Mahado to bring him some Advil.

Atemu would have rather suck on his own dick than show up at the fucked up school like Puzzle High. He grumbled, sinking further in his seat. Mahado tapped his hand politely and frowned. "Master Atemu, it _is_ a Friday. I doubt that going to school would kill you."

"I'm not worried about school killing me," muttered Atemu. "I'm more likely to demolish it, anyway."

That was enough for Mahado to chuckle. He smiled elegantly as the car pulled to a dead halt in the pathway of the school before opening the door and helping his master out. A frown crossed his lips. "Master Atemu?"

"No."

"Master Atemu, two days away from school is enough, you must--"

"_No._"

"_Atemu_!" Mahado shouted with a more demanding tone. He lunged at his grumpy master and yanked the annoying teenager out the door. "You _will_ go to school. I have notified the nurse of your need for Tylenol, and you have already been emailed the assignments you missed out on. That is _it_, understood?"

A groan bellowed from Atemu's lips and he grumbled profusely. Finally, he slapped away Mahado's nimble fingers and glared angrily. "Mahado?"

"Yes, Master Atemu?"

"Don't ever fucking touch me again." Atemu slammed the car door behind him, clutched his backpack closer and stomped to school grounds. Students alike separated, creating a path for the almighty teenager. Words bubbled through one ear and out the other--

"Atemuu! I'm sooooo glad you're back!"

"Geez, man, you look better than ever!"

"Oh. My. God. ATEMU!"

He groaned indignantly, already wishing for the day to be over. His fingers clinched his navi, which still excessively continued pinging when he finally found his locker. Atemu leaned against it, feeling somewhat comforted by his surroundings before checking the messages. Out of the six hundred and forty-eight messages he had gotten, only three of them had names that he recognized: Seto, Bakura, and Malik. He quickly skimmed through them before deleting all (now) six-hundred and eighty-four messages.

Fifteen more popped in their place instantly. Dammit.

Atemu immediately switched his messages to 'private' and tucked his navi in his pocket.

"_Atemu_," at the sound of a rather sugary voice, Atemu could only wince. He regained his composure, eyes narrowing suspiciously as a girl appeared before him: Mana Hudson. She grinned, tackling Atemu happily and latching onto his neck.

Atemu shifted his position, noticing immediately Mana was three inches off the ground. "Mana," he grumbled, "I'll kill you if you don't get off."

That was enough to make the other pout. Mana slipped away, hands tucked behind her beige skirt with a gleaming tan. "And what's got your whitey-tidies in a bundle, best friend?"

"Not my best friend," Atemu barked. He opened his locker, taking out his textbook and putting away the rest of his things. History, right? He had history first. Atemu continued his walk, and unfortunately, Mana was continuing to follow him. "Fuck, Mana. Leave me alone."

"No! Not until you tell me what's wrong!" Mana squirmed, green eyes elevating with a playful pout. "I thought we were _closer_ than that, Atemu!"

"I _said,_" Atemu snarled. He slammed Mana into a nearby locker, which was enough to knock the wind out of her and then some. Crimson eyes flared with obvious anger and a scowl was set across Atemu's lips. He pressed his own body close to hers, sanity fleeting quickly. "Leave me the fuck alone before I shove you in a closet and show you what I can _really_ do."

Mana gasped, eyes widening with fright. She whimpered, mouth crooning into a frown. Atemu, finally realizing what he was about to do, released her in a flurry of curses. He continued his walk to history, once again cursing himself when he ran into a student.

"Fuck," he droned, "_why_ won't anyone leave me alone today?"

"Oh, sorry." The other's voice was gentle and quiet. Atemu glared, bangs far too buried in his eyes to truly see who it was, but the other helped him up. Less than a second later, Atemu slapped their hand away and continued his walk. "H-Hold it!"

"What?" The word was simple, but the way Atemu had said it was enough to send any nearby students fleeing in fear. Gold bangs left his face, and suddenly he caught the eye of who had stopped him. Amethyst. That was all Atemu saw when he looked up--then unexpectedly down because he hadn't expected the other to be so short.

Large amethyst-violet eyes that widened twice in size (something Atemu was surprised could be done) due to amusement. Blond bangs framed his face, and a fearsome flurry of black hair toppled the rest of his head. A small smile stretched across soft pink lips. "Tissue?"

"What?" Atemu snapped out of his scrutiny, eyeing what he assumed to be a puny freshman when a small packet of tissues was shoved in his face.

The other giggled softly and shrugged. "You um, sound congested, Atemu. That is…your name, right? I'm sorry, the List has an Atemu Yamino as the most popular guy, and the picture had red eyes, and um, you're the only one who had red eyes and uh…" Pink flourished across this boy's cheeks and he shifted between his feet. "You look sick."

"Yeah." Atemu snatched the tissues from the other's hand, taking the time to examine this boy when he was rambling. This freshman was sickeningly adorable. His eyes narrowed, watching this kid like a hawk. "Next time," he mumbled irritably, "don't fucking run into me."

He turned his feet without another word and entered the world of screaming, ogling girls known only as "history class."

--

"What was that about?" Amethyst eyes peered up, eyebrows furrowing. Finally, he sighed to himself and wandered about the halls. It'd been so simple, he thought. His classroom was so easy to find, and Jou didn't even need to help him. Unfortunately, he forgot his books and needed to return to his locker. His locker wasn't far away; he knew that for sure. What he _didn't_ know was where the heck it was.

A squeak left his throat when he tripped over a stray cable leading to AV club. Pout firmly set on petite lips, he cursed himself for his clumsiness. It was only his third day of school! Speaking of being the new kid… Others were still staring.

A frown settled upon these fair lips, and then a tug of a smile. So, that was Atemu Yamino, the most well-known teenager in the large city of Millennia--the most futuristic city in the twenty-first century. Atemu Yamino was…a jerk. With another twist of the lips, he scoffed and looked at the thing he dubbed "hell-device."

"So," he murmured amusedly, "navigator-thing or whatnot. Do you think you can take me to my locker?"

_**Request Acknowledged. Approaching locker in forty-eight steps.**_

Huh. Maybe these navi-things weren't as bad as he'd originally thought. "Navis" as he learned on his first day here nearly six days before, were automated futuristic devices that acted like your phone, your mp3 player, 3G internet, email device, alarm clock, steering wheel, and et cetera. The damned hell-device caused him nothing but trouble. Getting him to his locker was quite possibly the best thing it'd done since he first got it. What he didn't like were the other default apps, such as the Top List.

He stopped, eyes in the hues of a setting sun blinking in utter confusion. "Um, hello."

A girl was crouched over the set of lockers. Long, chocolate brown hair grazed her back and large green eyes twinkled with trouble. She looked up, suddenly standing up as well. "Best friend! You came back!"

Best friend…? He shook his head and immediately caught sight of something on the girl's arm. "You have a bruise there, uh…"

"Mana Hudson!" She smiled brightly and brushed dust off her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. That's just Atemu Yamino for you; he beats up a lot of people if they bother him."

"Oh?" That wasn't fair. "Um…"

"Yeah?" "

"Y…You're in the way of my locker." He gestured behind her and flinched when the sound of the school bell went off. Great, now he was late. With a sigh, he muttered, "Oh well. Doubt I'd find my way back to history class anyway."

"History? With Hino-sensei?"

"U…Uh, yeah."

"I'll take you there! I have her for third period!" Mana teemed with excitement as she tugged the boy back to his locker. Without even noticing, Mana had slipped his navi into her grasp. "What's your classes? Hm…oh wow."

"What?" He arched a nervous eyebrow before finally getting his locker open.

"You're…" Mana raised an eyebrow, eyes doubling in size. "you're actually a year older than me, aren't you? A junior? Wow, I would never have guessed!"

"I get that a lot." With a shrug, he smiled when he succeeded with his history book and shut the door. "So um, will you take me to class, Mana?"

"Yeah!" she nodded and finally gave his navi back. "Um… what's your name again?"

"Oh." Eyes widened as he finally remembered never disclosing a name. A smile stretched kindly from cheek-to-cheek. "Yugi. My name is Yugi Mutou."

--

"You've made quite the impression since you were gone, you know."

"Hah. His fucking royal highness probably didn't want his beauty rest disturbed."

A grunt. Atemu raked a hand through crisp, gold bangs as he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. Unfortunately, that was something he could _never_ succeed in. If it was one thing that Atemu was good at, it was having a temper tantrum. "So what do you want?"

"There's a new name on the List," said cousin Seto Kaiba. Dark blue eyes flickered with interest, eyebrow arching with quaint curiosity. "It's very rare, don't you think?"

"Well," Atemu muttered as he crossed his arms, "I'm still number one, aren't I?"

Seto nodded. The Top List was the master list specifically made for teenagers ranging from freshmen to seniors. It noted the popularity of each student by how many times they were spoken of, and the reason why it'd been so popular for the past two years (after one Seto Kaiba created the app for their navis) was because it took note of every high school student across the entire district--seven high schools, to be exact. Atemu was number one, followed by one Seto Kaiba, then Bakura Touzoukuou and Marik Ishutaru.

"The only problem with that," Seto said with a frown, "is he's a new student. He broke the top hundred on his first day here. Yesterday he rose to the rank of ninety-nine, and today, he rose to the rank of ninety."

"Oh?" Atemu rolled his eyes, finding this particular subject only slightly interesting.

"He's trouble!" Bakura barked with a cynical grin on his face. He sniggered, white bangs jutting in different directions. "Always so _soft_ and _cuddly_. Tripped him in the hallway yesterday. He took the blame for it."

That _was_ trouble. People who broke the top hundred normally held an air of arrogance around them. Not to mention, this was a 'he.' Atemu arched an eyebrow, finally interested as he blew his nose in the pack of tissues given to him earlier. He wadded it up and threw it in Bakura's direction. "Probably some faker."

Bakura growled, chunking the chink of tissue back in the other's direction. He smirked and leaned back in his seat. "No doubt. Some arrogant bastard who thinks he can win everybody in Millennia over."

Seto nodded in agreement. "By the way, Atemu, did he come yet?"

"What?" Oh. Atemu growled, another headache surfacing in his temples. He glared at his cousin, the one who'd put him in this predicament in the first place. "No, he didn't come."

"What's the big deal about this brat you have to babysit again?" Bakura snorted and rolled his eyes. "Can't you just hand him to one of the nannies and be done with it?"

"Apparently not," Seto scowled and massaged his troubled head. "Kaiba Corp was finally able to buy the game shop near the harbor. "When we came to an agreement last fall, that old man mysteriously decided to give his share to that brat of his."

"And this ass here volunteered _me_ to take care of him." Atemu sneered at his cousin before throwing the snot-filled tissue back in Bakura's face. The game shop Seto spoke of was the one near the bay. Atemu had never visited, but it was apparently full of games that no one in Millennia ever owned. Kids were enticed with them and therefore, Kaiba Corp bought it to chain across the country. World, knowing that ambitious fucktard next to him. "I had the welcome mat pulled out for him six days ago. Don't expect me to be nice when that kid finally comes."

"He's a brat! Can't be that bright!" Bakura chunked it forcefully to the crimson-eyed teen next to him, only for it to roll away on the floor.

"Smooth move," scoffed Seto.

"Bah."

"Class, the bell rang five minutes ago; please settle down!"

All three teenagers exchanged looks before getting back to their rightful seats. Unfortunately for Atemu, Seto sat on the other side of the classroom while Bakura sat in the very back. He, on the other hand, sat next to the window and next to an empty desk.

Hino-sensei stood up in front of the smart board, navi in hand. She frowned and looked over to the blond student who sat in front of Atemu. "Katsuya, did Yugi-kun get lost in the school again?"

"Prob'ly. He said that he was gonna go get his history book since he forgot it."

"I suppose," Hino-sensei rolled her eyes and opened up an app on the board, "he can't help it. He's a new residence in Millennia; being able to work his navi would be a miracle, now wouldn't it?"

Atemu snorted, sharing a glance with his blue-eyed cousin across the room. On cue, his navi vibrated in his pocket and he smirked at the twin messages from both his friends: _**What kind of idiot doesn't know how to work a navi?**_

"S-Sorry, Hino-sensei!" the door slid open. "I kind of got lost…"

Amethyst eyes… What the--! Atemu snapped up, dark red eyes glazing with confusion as he watched the familiar boy stumble into the classroom. Behind him stood Mana, with a smile on her face.

"It's okay, Yugi-kun." Hino-sensei said reassuringly. She gestured to an empty desk in the classroom. The one right next to Atemu. "I just hope that you can memorize the school map; I'll get in trouble if I keep excusing you."

"Y…yeah," pink tinged pale cheeks. "O-Okay."

_**Oh, that's the new kid**_**, **said Seto's newest email. Atemu arched an eyebrow as the next one appeared in a matter of seconds. _**Did we mention that he sort of looks like you?**_

Sort of? He bit back his sarcasm as this kid, "Yugi" thanked Mana by the door before settling down the aisle. Wasn't this the same freshman who had run into him in the hallway?

Halfway to his seat, Yugi had tripped over Atemu's leg and hit his head on the top of the desk. "O…ow…"

The class roared with laughter. Atemu watched as Yugi picked himself up, not even offering help, and glared. Yugi's eyes were plastered on the ground, and the crimson-eyed teen asked himself curiously: was this little kid crying? Apparently not, Atemu realized a half second later, when Yugi pulled out a pack of tissues. Yugi wrapped it around the used wad Atemu carelessly left on the ground and threw it in the nearby trashcan.

_What a nerd,_ Atemu snorted. Yugi came back under the roar of sniggers, ignoring some "aww's" he was getting while the majority continued with their amusement. Atemu wasn't sure when it happened, but he'd started smirking at this clumsy midget's actions.

A pout surfaced across Yugi's lips. Suddenly, his attention tore away from his own humiliation and he looked Atemu straight in the eye.

Atemu arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"You're using them," beamed Yugi. "My tissues."

"What of it?"

"Oh." The glimmer in Yugi's eyes disappeared, eyebrows furrowing. "Never mind then."

"Students! Please turn to the seventh chapter in your history book. We have a lot to cover today!"

He reached under his desk to take out his book and--"Fuck." Atemu scowled as he held up the calculus book in his grasp instead. Could this day simply get any worse?

"Atemu?"

"God, just what is it?!" Atemu snapped angrily. He shot a glare to the boy next to him, who yet again looked confused. Amethyst eyes flickered with slight amusement and uncertainty.

"Do you want to share my book?"

The words tingled in Atemu's head. He watched this kid as Yugi scooted over with his history book in hand. What was the word to describe him? This kid…really…pissed him off. "Only for now," he muttered.

--

"Wow, just wow."

"You have to admit, Atemu, it's not much of a surprise if you look at our track record." Seto's eyes glazed with anger and he scoffed. "I just can't believe someone who cracked the top hundred is hanging out with _them_ of all people."

"Them" consisted of Katsuya Jonouchi, Malik Ishtar, and Ryou Inoue. Three periods had passed, and from what Atemu had learned, Yugi Mutou and he had both first period and third period together. Apparently, lunch was _another_ thing that they shared. The only reason why Seto seemed so agitated (and now, Atemu himself) was because of who the Mutou brat was hanging out with. Ishtar and Inoue had an odd resemblance to Marik and Bakura; Jonouchi was just stuck in that group.

Now, ironically enough, the new kid was parading around with the bunch of underdogs and was now another kid who Atemu was positive would get on his nerves.

This day couldn't have gotten any worse. Both Seto and Atemu watched as Jonouchi grabbed Mutou into a bear hug and started a tickle fight. Seto growled.

"So where are Bakura and Marik?" Atemu rolled his eyes, knowing best not to get his friend started on the subject of Jonouchi.

"They're getting rid of the new target."

That was enough to get a laugh out of the crimson-eyed teen. He snorted, musing how that 'target' very much deserved it anyway. He kept a steady eye on the other four teenagers eating their lunch on the hilltop outside. "So how is his popularity then?"

"Wavering, but it keeps shooting up and going back down." Seto took out his black navi and gestured to the results. "I'm thinking he's only broken it because of his resemblance to you."

"They weren't like this when Inoue transferred here, freshman year."

"Inoue didn't look like you."

"Point taken." Atemu reached in his pocket and took his cold medicine. Throughout the day, his congestion seemed to come down, as he didn't feel as headache-y as he was at the beginning. His eyes caught sight of two brunettes approaching Mutou and his group of friends. "What's his relationship with them?"

"Like hell if I know," Seto rolled his eyes. "Anzu Mazaki makes it as number forty-two on the list. Mana Hudson is fifty-three."

"Alright."

"Why so curious, anyway?" the brunet chuckled softly and smirked. "Do you have some plans in mind?"

"Oh, plenty. After I'm feeling back in tip-top shape." Atemu blinked, taking in the sight of both Marik and Bakura marching up to the gang Seto and he were just observing. "What are they doing?"

Seto shrugged. "Let's go find out."

By the time they got there, it wasn't hard to figure out something had happened. Marik had a fist full of Jonouchi's shirt as he threatened to punch him while Malik was trying his best to push Bakura back, but desperately failing. Behind them stood Ryou, who had a protective arm snaked around Yugi's shoulder. Mana and Anzu followed in suit, refusing for Yugi to be taken away. The shortest of all of them looked confused, casting glances at every single one of his friends. A crowd was forming, obviously interested in whatever the heck was going on.

"You wanna say that again, you overgrown bastard?!" Jonouchi snarled. Despite his threatening tone, he was being held an inch off the ground by the taller teen. He flailed, trying desperately to kick but obviously failing.

"Jou, it's fine!" Yugi looked scared. Eyebrows furrowed, he shook his head. "It's my fault, I should--"

"No!" barked the second blond. Malik wrestled out of Bakura's grasp, hands clenched. "Give him a break, he's a new student! We're fucking tired of you guys going around like you own this school anyway!"

"Guys…" Yugi weakly protested once again. Mana and Anzu wouldn't let him. Ryou squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

"Bakura, Marik." Atemu looked between his two friends with bemusement. The entire crowd gasped, murmurs surfacing as the crimson-eyed teen made his way through along with his cousin. Marik and Bakura loosened their grip and shoved the pair back to the group in the middle of the circle. "What's going on?"

Bakura grunted, frown settled upon his lips. "That smug little brat in the middle was showing off in Math."

That was the second time Atemu Yamino laughed at something petty in one day. His eyes resurfaced to the locks of blond and black hair peeping from behind Mana. "Is that all?"

"He disgraced your father's name during debate, too." Marik sniggered, hands nestled on both hips. "Kind of funny, actually."

"Oh?" Crimson eyes darkened. _That_ wasn't something to laugh at.

"How's he spose to know that your damn pops was the mayor?!" Jonouchi blocked Atemu's sight, hands curled into fists. "You're gonna sock him just because you're the son of a bastard? Don't you even think about it, asshole!"

Atemu ignored him. Instead, he made his way across the mass of people and stood parallel to this boy with pink-violet eyes. Murmurs were surfacing about how they looked alike. In a sense, they were right. Same school uniform, common, exotic eyes, and long locks of gold sprawled across their faces. Ebony locks shot in jagged ends for both of them, but that was it. Atemu was fierce. This brat was sweet. Atemu was relentless, this brat was forgiving.

"You really shouldn't be picking fights you know you can't win, little one." Red eyes narrowed at their target with a furious blaze.

"Right." Amethyst eyes shifted to the ground and Yugi shuffled between his feet. "S…sorry. I'll be quiet in math class."

"That's not what I'm angry about!" Atemu snapped angrily. The other flinched and backed away. "Know your place at this school, or you'll end up with bruises so bad on that pretty little skin of yours you won't even look Japanese anymore."

"Yugi…" Ryou wrapped a protective arm around the other with furrowed eyebrows. "Please, don't threaten him."

"Oh?" Bakura appeared by Atemu's side hastily with another snigger. "So the little mouse finally squeaks? I've been waiting for the day to cut all that princess-y little hair off."

"NO!" Before anyone had even realized it, Yugi had shoved Ryou behind him, arms up and eyes flaring. "Don't hurt him!"

"Yug, we told you to stay back!"

"Yugi, don't even think about--"

Unfortunately, their short friend had other things to deal with. Atemu arched an eyebrow, rather amused by this new development. "Are you so stupid that you're willing to get beat up by all four of us and end up crying home to your mother?"

"_Yes._" Yugi held firm ground.

It was hard to say, out of those eight of them. Mana and Anzu had been shoved to the side, so it was quiet obvious that they weren't the ones to throw the first punch.

--

"_Fuck._"

"Did you get into a fight today, Master Atemu?"

A hiss left the young teen's throat. He nestled in his car seat as Mahado appeared to his other side. Another grunt left his lips as he rubbed his sore arm from earlier events. The fight the eight of them had gotten into was horrible. Before Atemu had even realized it, someone slammed a fist into his jaw, and the fight had started. Seto was complaining about the bite mark he'd received on his shoulder once they left the principal's office. Bakura left with a bloody nose and Marik muttered something about a bruise on his eye. All-in-all, they'd been pretty successful, but were really sore.

The morons, on the other hand, weren't as lucky. Jonouchi had bumps and bruises across his entire face and a large one on his forehead. Malik was in the same condition, which left the little brat and Ryou with the least harm. Ryou had less bruises, but Yugi Mutou had hit his head hard on a tree branch and was sent home. That, Atemu mused wryly, actually wasn't his fault. His "lookalike" was just very, very clumsy.

"Not my fault," Atemu grumbled. "Would have been less of a hassle of Bakura kept his fucking mouth shut."

"I see," sighed Mahado. He ordered for the driver to politely take them back to the Yamino Residence. "By the way, Master Seto's guest arrived not too shortly ago."

"Good." Wait, no. Bad. Atemu apparently had to be nice to this brat, or the old man would change his mind on his deal with Kaiba Corp. Dammit, Seto Kaiba owed him big! "So what's the deal about this kid?"

"How did you end up getting into a fight?"

Damn. "Do we really need to be talking about that?"

"I suppose not, but I worry about your wellbeing at times." Mahado sighed and shook his head. Suddenly, another look crossed his face. "You're not bullying other students again, are you?"

"This one's different." Very different. Atemu rubbed his sore head, leaning back in his seat. His thoughts went back to how the fight had gotten started. He remembered lunging towards Mutou, with the simple intent to say he was the new target of torture. This kid hadn't been willing to fight back until his friend was threatened. That was enough to pique Atemu's interest.

He must have missed Mahado telling him they had arrived at the house because he'd already been guided to the door without realizing it. His thoughts lingered, and he already made plans to meet with the boys and decide how to torture that kid. His friends, too, Atemu realized. Jonouchi was the one who sucker punched him; of _course_ Mutou wouldn't be the only one involved.

Just exactly why were they so intent on protecting--"This is Yugi Mutou." Exactly!

"Bwah?" Atemu blinked away his daze and looked as his favored butler gestured to the short violet-eyed boy standing in front of them. Yugi Mutou stood there, ice pack in hand in star-patterned baby pajamas. "What are you doing at my house?"

Mahado arched an eyebrow, sure proof that Atemu was too busy in his own thoughts to pay attention. "Master Yugi is Master Kaiba's new business partner."

"…hah?" Crimson-eyes flickered with confusion. On the other hand, Yugi held a bag of ice to the bump on his head and didn't look surprised.

"My grandfather made a business deal and chose me to be to be his representative here. I've been staying with Jou for a while, but…" Yugi rubbed his soar head, lips pulled into a pout. He smiled softly. "I'm told that I'm supposed to be staying with you for the time being."

Oh, fuck.

--

**Notes: **

Navis are personal little devices in Millennia and Millennia alone. That'll be explained in later chapters. Ishutaru is the romanization of Marik's last name,Touzoukuo is "Thief King", and Inoue is the last name of one of Ryou's seiyuus. "Atemu Yamino" just translates to "Atemu's Darkness" or "Atemu of Darkness." Something like that. Mean!Yami is so hard to write; buu. Umum, reviews would be nice! :D


	2. Back It All Up

**-**

**Chapter 2:** Back It All Up

-

The weekend went by fast. Atemu hadn't realized how quickly two days away from school would be done with so easily. Yugi, as he learned, rarely came home while he was out. The shorter came back only twice the entire weekend, grabbing two sets of clothes and even then, Atemu didn't find out until the morning after and by Mahado's word. Atemu's ears ached from Seto's yelling in his ear when the news hit. After all, it wasn't like the person they were going to conspire against for the rest of junior year and most of senior year was living with him…for approximately one and a half years. No, not at all.

Fuckfuckfuck. Atemu rolled his eyes at the sound of Seto's groans. The choice was hard; back off or set it off in full throttle. That old man would have their heads if he knew what was really going on with his grandson. On the other hand, backing down now after the little brat was the one who wanted the challenge wounded his pride. Before Atemu knew it, he was part of the conspiracy against one Yugi Mutou, and from what he was informed about, Jonouchi, Inoue, and Ishtar weren't planning to give him up without a fight.

Which was exactly the way he liked it.

"Will you give it a rest already?" Atemu's eyes narrowed irritably at his cousin. "You've been whining all weekend."

"This is business." Seto scowled and he crossed his arms grudgingly. "How am I supposed to react to the fact fifty percent of my new share is in the hands of a guy you think would be fun to harass for the rest of high school?"

"Hey." Crimson eyes glared as he shut his locker. "I'm the one who lives with him; you really think you have it that bad?"

"Fine."

Atemu glared as his navi vibrated for the forty-third time. He snatched it out of his back pocket and casually began surfing through its features. "So what are you planning to do then; being business partners and all?"

"Threaten him, I guess." Blue eyes widened peculiarly and he smirked. "Maybe this works at our advantage."

_**Will be running late; Mahado says that you forgot your lunch, so I'll bring that for you too. -- Yugi Mutou.**_

"Dammit, does he _ever_ give me a break?"

"So what are you going to do, great cousin of mine?" Seto said dryly. He smirked, obviously hitting a soft spot. He patted Atemu's back gently and snickered. "Living with him, and all?"

"Didn't even see him all weekend." the only time they'd actually seen each other was the Friday Yugi was at home before Atemu. All weekend Yugi was far too busy doing whoknowswhat; what was the point, really, of Yugi coming home? The brat was always away, from what he could tell. "Bakura?"

"Setting up your lovely little trap." The brunet cracked a grin and chuckled. "You're really going through with this, aren't you?"

"Can't help it." Crimson eyes studied the email closely, like there was a hidden meaning behind it. "'It'll bug me shitless if I don't."

A snort. One Seto Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I hope you know what you're doing with this one, Atemu."

"Oh trust me." A flicker if a flame ignited in cold red eyes. "I know perfectly well what I'm doing."

--

"I can't believe you forgot to set up your alarm!"

"It's not _my_ fault that I thought that we had no school on Monday!"

"You know what, Jou? It kinda sorta is!" Yugi squeaked as he tripped over the last steps leading to the entrance to Puzzle High School. He panted, foot reaching the door of the school. Jou halted, flashing a concerned look over his shoulder.

"You okay, Yug?"

"Uh, yeah," Yugi said between breaths. He scratched his head and rested a hand on his chest, trying desperately to slow his air. A frown settled across his lips as he realied that the hallways were deserted. The clock above read in ominous numbers: **8:15AM.** The bell rang fifteen minutes ago. He sighed; this time he was tardy and he hadn't even gotten lost yet!

"No, you're not." Jou said sternly. He bent over, now at eye-level with his friend as he arched an eyebrow. "You don't have to push yourself, you know."

Yugi snorted as the pair slowed their pace to Hino-sensei's class. "I guess now we don't have to since it's kind of obvious about how late we are, huh?"

"Oh, right." Jou rolled his eyes and raked a hand through crisp blond hair. He paled and groaned. "Damn! I didn't even do the homework she assigned, man! You uh, think you can cover for me while I go to my locker?"

"I can try…" Yugi scrunched his nose, halting gently at a set of lockers. "But I'm not very good at this sort of thing." That was half a lie. Yugi's stomach flopped as his blond friend gave him a relieved grin and dashed off. In return, Yugi continued his wandering throughout the building. He'd find the history class; eventually. His thoughts flickered for a moment, wondering if it would be better to tell his navi to find the classroom for him. Probably not, he liked the silence.

Thought shoved aside, he frowned and touched the delicate bump on top of his head. Mahado had great concern for his wellbeing when he first came by nearly three days ago. First, it'd been about whom he really was; Yugi hesitantly explained that Jou had the only house key to his apartment and coming by the Yamino place was his best shot.

Because, he thought first and foremost, being at the Yamino Residence was probably the last thing he wanted. Luckily enough, although he came with the full intent of explaining his inheritance of the game shop near the bay, Jou insisted him coming over. Yugi smiled softly, hands meddling with his bag. He'd been in shock after the events on Friday; worried that his new friends would abandon him because of that incident. Jou assured him that it was regular behavior and Malik and Ryou were more reluctant to leave him than they were to be friends with him. It wasn't right.

Instead, Jou reminded him they were planning Yugi a "Welcome to Millennia" party and no one, he repeated, _no one_ could resist Katsuya Jonouchi's injured puppy look. Yugi laughed softly. Having friends was nice. He just wished that they weren't so darn protective of him.

"Oh, look. I did find it." Violet-pink eyes read the sign saying "Hino-sensei" before opening the door. He sighed, defeated. Maybe it was a good thing that he was stu--

_Plshhhhching. _

Crimson eyes shot up from the navi in Atemu's grasp. He watched, eyebrows raised as the entire classroom erupted in laughter before finally realizing what happened.

One Yugi Mutou stood there, eyes still bugging with shock as they registered what just happened. He bobbed his head wantonly before reaching up and picking the bucket off his head. Once off, his hair was in drenched chunks, matted with water and the rest of him sopping wet. For a second, he stood frozen soaking in what had just happened before the obvious answer popped out to mind.

_A bucket full of water just fell on my head. Duh._ Yugi looked through blond bangs, mouth agape. He looked to Hino-sensei, who seemed just as shocked at the new course of events. Yugi gulped, bucket in hand and slowly looked onward. Crimson eyes caught his own and his grip only tightened.

"This is a little…" Yugi's voice trembled. He looked around to the kids who finally settled down a little. Seto caught his eye, one who was trying so hard not to look amused. Bakura was yowling with laughter and then Atemu, that jerk…was smirking, but seemed like he couldn't care less about the incident. Yugi's voice climbed an octave or two, "_immature_, don't you think?"

"Oh, Yugi-kun…" Hino-sensei reached out and put a hand on his dripping t-shirt. Yugi backed away, eyes falling to the ground. "Who did this? Who…_how_ did someone do this?"

Oh, fuck. Atemu shared a scowl with Bakura from the back of the room. Getting detention so early in the school week wasn't his original plan. He readied a glare in Yugi's direction, threatening that if their secret was out, Yugi was screwed. He never go the chance.

"It's a pretty simple plan, Hino-sensei…" Yugi looked into the bucket, fingering the brand name engraved at the bottom and shrugged. "You normally come back into the classroom after five minute watch. That's enough time to plant the bucket and unless there is a certain amount of force, it wouldn't fall on someone."

"That doesn't make it right." Hino-sensei looked up and glared at the entire class. "Tell me before I assign every single one of you detention! Who planted the bucket?!"

"It's alright." Yugi shook his head and set the bucket in a nearby corner. His teeth chattered as the wind against him began to take effect before stumbling to his seat. "I-I-I'm o-okay w-w-with it…t… achoo!"

Atemu watched with little interest as Yugi halted in front of him. The amethyst eyed boy shot him an unidentifiable look before setting a brown bag on his desk. Atemu blinked. "What's…"

"Your lunch." Yugi shivered and hugged his dripping backpack closer. "I…I had t-to rush h-home because I forgot my s-school b-b-badge and M-Mahado said that you forgot to b-b-bring your lunch with you, r-r-remember?" He raised his hand to Hino-sensei. "J-Jou had to r-rush to his l-locker, s-so he'll b-be late too, Hino-sensei."

"Uh, yes. Right." The teacher snapped out of her daze and moved back to the smart board. "Now, class…get your assignment out."

"D-D-Do you have your t-t-t-textbook this time, Atemu?" Yugi looked over, eyes half-lidded as he continued to shudder. His skin paled to the color of his white jacket. He pulled his hoody off, but it was no avail; all the way to the skin, he'd been soaked with ice cold water.

"Yes." Atemu glared at him and shoved the brown lunch bag under his desk.

"C…can w-we sh-share?" Teeth chattering, Yugi hugged his bag closer to himself and took in a soft breath. At this rate, he was going to get a cold.

"No." Crimson eyes blazed with irritation as he revealed the book he'd forgotten his Friday back and opened the page to their assignment. He tried his best to focus on what Hino-sensei put on the board, but the other's soft voice tingled his right ear.

"Oh." Yugi murmured with disappointment. He wrung the water out of his hair and sighed to himself as he set his bag to the ground. "Okay."

About twenty minutes into class, one Katsuya Jonouchi burst through the doors with the relief across his face immediately disappearing when he saw the condition of his short friend. Needless to say, the class was busy holding one Jou back to ever grade.

--

"_Dammit,_ Yug, I can't believe that douche actually set a prank for you!"

"Jou, it's okay, really."

"No, it's not," Malik snapped. Light purple eyes narrowed as he glared at the bathroom stall. He settled both hands on his hips and looked over to Ryou, who too was annoyed by this circumstance. "Anybody, Yugi. Anybody but you. Jou would take the beating, Ryou would take the beating, hell, _I_ would take the beating."

"If memory served, _and it does_," Yugi grumbled as he pulled the new t-shirt over his head. First period had gone by with very little trouble. Second period, Yugi had been hassled by another student for picking up their pencil. Apparently, once you've become "targeted", _no one_ liked you. He rubbed his belly, feeling the forming bruise from when he was shoved into a locker before third period. "I'm not the only one that they're planning on picking on."

"Doesn't fucking seem that way." Jou growled, pounding a fist into the bathroom door.

"No, Jou." Violet eyes flickered a dangerous hue before he peeked out the stall. Eyebrows furrowed, he looked to the ground guiltily. "It's my fault that this whole mess is happening; I'm so angry that they're getting you guys involved with this."

He looked back up, mouth tightly knit into a frown that immediately faded into curiosity. Ryou, Malik, and Jou were looking…surprised.

"Wh…what?" Yugi's eyes widened in confusion.

"Yugi, we're not going to let them get away with this." Jou bent over and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "They're only picking on you because…well…"

"Because I'm _small_?" he raised a wry eyebrow.

"Er, yeah." Pink puffed Jou's cheeks as he shoved his hands into sweatshirt. He smiled apologetically. "But that's beside the point. You think we're gonna stand here and let you take a beating that you don't even deserve?"

Yes. "Well…" Amethyst eyes fell to the ground and red powdered round cheeks. Yugi could hear jaws fall in shock.

"Yugi…" Malik lightly hit him over the head with a small chuckle. "We _never_ leave a friend out in the dust. Don't think for a _second_ that we'll even _let_ you decide on ditching us."

Yugi laughed softly and shook his head. He awkwardly fumbled with the ends of his t-shirt and shuffled between his feet. "It was one prank, guys. You make it sound like the end of the world."

"Sorry, but," Ryou wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "You're stuck with us, Yugi."

"Lighten up, okay?" Jou grinned and patted Yugi on the shoulder. "How 'bout we go to Burger World after school? My treat. Eh, for you, that is. Malik and Ryou still gotta pay for themselves."

"Fine, but I'm paying for his drink."

"I'll buy his ice cream."

"Wha…guys…" Yugi flushed again. "There's a line between being a good friend and paying for me like we're all out on a date."

"Ah, nah. If this were a date, I wouldn't be telling you to spend the night over at my house." Jou grinned before pulling the shorter into his grasp. "Sleep over, and uh, explain the math to me, will ya?"

"Really?" a smile spread across Yugi's face. He nodded instantly. "Thank you…for everything."

--

"Do you have something to ask me?"

"Like hell I would."

"Well then," Yugi murmured as he finally finished the last equation in his science book. "Stop staring at me." Atemu watched as the other put all of his things away and looked back up with a friendly smile. "Do you need any help?"

"No. I'm on the last problem." Crimson eyes returned to their place on his text book and he cursed himself. Every time he looked up, Yugi would be there with the same inquisitive expression across his face. He cursed the teacher for wanting them to work in partners and wanted to damn well send Meio-sensei away when he assigned partners and said that it wasn't optional.

"Won't be home tonight." Yugi rested his head on Atemu's desk and watched nimble fingers finish up the equation. "I'm sleeping over at Jou's."

Atemu snorted. "What's the point in your staying at my house if you're not even there most of the time?"

"Do you really care?"

"Of _course not._" Atemu slammed the book, taking note to how Yugi immediately flinched to his small act of aggression. He put it in his own bag and reached for his navi. His eyes slowly wandered to Yugi and once again he scowled. The boy had found a different set of clothes to wear--some that Atemu assumed were Mana's. In any case, Yugi's popularity had risen in little than two hours because of the new pair of jeans and t-shirt that Yugi conveniently adorned. The school's button hung precariously at Yugi's sleeve.

From what Atemu could already tell, many of Yugi's clothes were a bit, if not _too_, big for him. These clothes, on the other hand, framed every one of Yugi's good features and lessoned how much of a kid he looked. The fact that Mana was only barely taller than Yugi by an inch or two made Yugi's clothes look like a snug fit. People were beginning to comment how _cute_ this abomination was.

"Thanks for letting me borrow your pencil!"

"Mm? Yeah." He took the pen back from the girl and stuffed it in a random pocket to the side. Atemu looked back to Yugi and rolled his eyes. "Fuck, what is it now?"

"Nothing." Yugi smiled. "You wear a lot of leather."

"Well, you ask a lot of questions."

"I wouldn't ask a lot if you answered most of them in the first place." Atemu tensed when the other teen leaned over your shoulder. "They have that game on navi?"

"They have just about every game on navi." The other teen situated himself and promptly scooted away from the shorter. "You don't get out much, do you?"

"I lived in New Domino for a year and a half with my brother." Yugi shrugged, finally giving personal space back to Atemu. "But even they don't have the technological advances that Millennia has. Your father's the mayor, right? Do you ever get to go out?"

"Why didn't you just rat me out to Hino?" Atemu set his navi gently on the desk, cursing ever so lightly at how they were the only ones finished with the assignment already. "It would have saved you the trouble of wearing the clothes Mana prances around in when she feels like being a man."

"You knew these were Mana's?"

"Our families have been friends since childhood."

"Oh." Pink-violet eyes looked up curiously, scrutinizing every bit of the person known as Atemu Yamino. "Well, how would it benefit me; ratting you out and everything?"

"Get me detention and have me endure Mahado's constant lecturing for the rest of the week?" Atemu sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "You're a fucking safety buzzard he gets to hit now that you're living with us. Like some unwanted little brat of a brother." Silence engulfed them. He looked up, eyes flashing with confusion to why the other said not a word. "What?"

"Oh." Yugi's eyes widened and he stood up. A smile played across his face. "Nothing."

Atem watched closely was the other returned to his seat on the other side of the room. He rested his head on his desk and traced a finger on the sole button of his navi.

_**Marik'll be at the autoshop all day. Come to Kaiba Corp for further plans later. **_

Once the bell rang, Atemu grabbed his things and watched Yugi stumble out the door. His stomach did a flip and he grimaced as the familiar feeling of dissatisfaction took over. He faintly wondered where someone with so little self-assertion learned how to force such a pitiful smile.

--

**Author's Note: **

Aww, Mean!OOC!Atemu can be so cute at times. Thing is, this is just a take of what Atemu would be like, obviously without Yugi growing at his side in the modern day. We'll just see how it goes, right? Thank you for the reviews and putting this on your alert! Sorry for the short chapter; this was all I could conjure and after staring at the screen for fifteen minutes trying to think of how to write the rest, I realized it was fine as it is. Reviews would be nice!


	3. Regular Decorated Emergency

**-**

**Chapter 3:** Regular Decorated Emergency

**-**

_Tap, tap, tap…_

"God…I swear…"

_Tap, tap, tap…flickflickflick_

"Seriously…if he doesn't…"

_FLICKFLICKFLICK--_

"FUCKING ISHUTARU!"

"Malik, no!" Yugi rose from his seat the same time his blond friend did, unfortunately tripping over one of the chair's legs and falling on top of the taller. He groaned softly, hand raking through blond bangs as he picked himself up. Malik, on the other hand, kept glaring at the tan teenager behind them with hands balled into fists.

"Dammit, I swear, if you keep throwing eraser bits at his head…" Pale purple eyes flared with utter disgust. "I'll…_I'll…_"

"You'll what?" mocked Marik. He leaned against his seat, hands reigning above his desk. He lost the daunting appearance for less than a second, switching to something more appalling and smirked. "Land me detention, dear little Mallie? In case you haven't noticed, we're already here."

Yugi tensed, feeling the trembling body next to him. Amethyst eyes peered with worry to the taller figure before a pitiful sigh finally left his lips. Marik was right, but Malik wasn't one who would let his anger go so easily. If anything, Yugi had learned in the past three weeks that although Malik's calm demeanor at most times, he could flare with the same lividness Jou showed everyone every day. Despite the threatening aura Malik held whenever even in a ten meter radius of his lookalike, Marik could have cared less. Unfortunatelly, Malik was only a ticking time bomb dealing with a fortress far too high for his impact.

"Malik, it's fine." Yugi tugged the other up to his seat, eyebrows furrowing. "He's picking on _me_, not you."

"Which is _exactly_ why it's not fine…" Malik's own eyebrows furrowed and he set a hand on Yugi's shoulder.

And thus, the cycle repeated. What was it about him, Yugi thought tiresomely, that would make all three of these guys overprotective of him to the point of violence, but melt without a second thought when he protested against these actions?

"I can handle it," Yugi assured. And he could; he knew he could. He was able to count the days going by; the minutes, and even the tedious little seconds until the next day where the _other_ cycle repeated itself; the one where he came to school, be briefly harassed by other students by getting his bag or navi stolen, endure Bakura's taunts, Marik's abuse, Seto's contemplative face on either to help or stand aside (normally the latter), have Jou, Malik, and Ryou stand up for him despite the fact it wasn't necessary, all leading up to the brooding "I'm-a-bad-boy" Yamino and his crimson red eyes sitting there and enjoying it like a king on the throne.

If he thought that the bucket thing was horrible, then Yugi was horribly mistaken. It got worse as the days went on because the four guys so fixated on ruining his life had started a chain reaction he supposed was the "natural order of things." Yugi stopped going to his locker, annoyed with the fact that fellow students got a kick out of shoving him in there like he belonged. _Come on, body, grow! You know you want to! _

Yugi grazed the large, swollen bump on Malik's shoulder blade. The incident traced back to earlier this morning when Bakura (the infamous "Thief King" of the school) stole and ripped apart one of Yugi's important notebooks. Jou had thrown a fit, once being punched in the face before being knocked out. Marik moved forward with the intention of ripping Yugi apart, but never got the chance. Instead, Malik shoved him and the real fight began while Yugi tried to stop them. All of it ended with only the three of them getting detention. Malik flinched and hissed with pain before Yugi recoiled with a guilty expression. "Sorry."

"It's fine." His friend grumbled quietly. Malik's pride was wounded. "How long 'til we can leave this hell hole?"

With a soft smile, Yugi gestured to his navi. "Fifteen minutes."

"Fine." Malik buried his head in his own navi and refused to look up. Yugi sighed with relief, casting a quick glance to Marik before turning away. He shivered.

"Feh."

Yugi tensed, immediately jolting from his seat. He turned around, glaring daggers at the teenager behind him. "_Please_ stop messing with us!" With a light huff, Yugi nestled in his seat and met the gaze of amused purple orbs. "What?"

"Now, that's not fair, Yugi Mutou," Malik grinned cheekily, "if you're allowed stand up for _me_, I should be able to stand up for you."

A small smile tickled Yugi's lips. He shook his head gently as a light blush pranced across his cheeks. "I'm sorry," he murmured quietly. "I get really worked up when my friends are threatened; it's just…not fair."

"You have a good sense of justice. I like that about you." Malik laughed softly, the thoughts of Marik quickly leaving the atmosphere. For the better, too, Yugi noted with a wider smile as Malik calmed down. "Are you spending the night at Jou's again?"

Yugi nodded, eying the soft pitter patter of rain against the window. "Most likely. I have to run an errand and talk to…um, him." He stiffened in his seat when his friend decided on grimacing with distaste. Between the three weeks of Yugi's settling in, Atemu's declaration of war, and various types of harassment from not only Seto, Malik, Bakura, and Atemu himself, but also the great mayor's son's fellow followers, Yugi had gathered up the nerve to email Seto Kaiba and remind them of their business deal.

Malik didn't like it, Ryou was uncomfortable with it, and Jou was completely _opposed_ to it. That was what landed them detention last Tuesday; Yugi having to hold his blond friend back while the taller garbled on about "not touchin' one little hair on [his] adorable little friend's head." Yugi shuddered, the "A" word coming to mind. His navi pinged about fifteen times a day, and according to Jou, his popularity would either climb or falter. Jou was convinced that his cute factor was the reason why they constantly kept bothering him. The first email Yugi (curiously) read involved his butt. And how adorable it was.

From then on, Yugi decided it was best to _never_ open the emails. He looked back up, amethyst eyes flashing apologetically. "I won't be there too long, Malik. I promise."

"Do you want me to walk you?"

Heck yeah in this weather. "O…only if you want to."

"It's supposed to get worse. Maybe hail a little. But that's Millennia for you; chunking ice balls in the middle of February is our specialty." Malik rose a light eyebrow and chuckled softly. "Right now it's only light rain."

"Mmhmm." Yugi nodded again, eyes glued to the window. "They don't know when it's going to stop."

"Leave it to the teachers to be stupid enough to have detention on a day with bad weather." The blond snorted and buried his left hand in messy tresses.

"Well, I wouldn't call them stupid," the other laughed softly. Yugi grinned playfully and shrugged. "Getting glued to a chair now, _that_ is pretty stupid."

"No, the _prank_ is stupid." Malik sniggered and nudged his head to Marik, who found something to entertain himself with. "But I'm pretty sure everyone got a kick out of seeing Jou's puppy boxers."

Yet another one of Atemu's poking fun. The day before, one of the four other boys drenched Yugi's desk with glue. Yugi, being the poor clumsy boy he was, tripped before he had the chance to get there. Jou instinctively caught him, but landed on the desk. He had the common sense of not taking the desk with him, but as Malik describe it, Jou was still stupid enough to wander around in his boxers all day without a second thought. Yugi resisted the urge to smile. "Poor Jou, though."

"His own fault. Short attention span. Bet I could put a towel on my dog's head and his to see who'll get it off faster. My dog would win." Malik grinned playfully and chuckled softly.

"He isn't that bad." The smile strummed across Yugi's face with sheer amusement and he tapped his navi. He rolled his eyes as its thirty-ninth ping filled the air.

Malik noticed his irritation. He sat up, hands fiddling with the sides. "You can turn that on vibrate, you know."

"I know." It just, for some weird reason, _HATED HIM._

"I can't believe you were able to afford the newest model, Yugi." Malik arched a curious eyebrow as he finally silenced the hell device and picked out his own. "Are you still getting emails from everybody?"

"Yeah…" Yugi shrugged guiltily as he compared his blue one to Malik's purple. "I used part of the money my mother gave me before I came to Millennia." That was a lie. He used _all_ of it; he simply needed a new one and all of his mother's money went into buying this thing.

"What, really? Your mother?" Malik's curiosity got the best of him.

"I'm not getting any money from Kaiba Corp until our business deal is settled." Yugi shook his head and shrugged. "I haven't even seen the shop for myself. Heck, I haven't been there since I was thirteen, Malik."

"Your grandfather's shop…is actually where I met Jou." Malik chuckled softly, content memories surfacing to his mind. "I remember now when Isis decided to pick up everything and move here with Sugoroku being our landlord until we could settle properly. I came downstairs one morning and found Jou literally willing to trade the t-shirt off his back along with all of these knickknacks you'd find at a toy store. God, that boy would trade his own sister if he was _that_ stupid."

"Aw, what did he want?" Yugi grinned.

"Well, your grandfather's a card collector among other things. He had the Red-Eyes Black Dragon card displayed in a glass case after he came to get it in Egypt." Malik rolled his eyes playfully. "We were eight. He saw me, and man, did I see the intent in his eyes. He looked back to your grandfather and said, 'you brought a blond kid home?! You already have me, Gramps! How about I trade places with him and you give me your cool dinosaur because we're family?'"

"Certainly sounds like him." A giggle left Yugi's throat. When he looked back up, Malik was staring at him, quite surprised at the reaction. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." Malik swatted his hand absentmindedly and shrugged. "So how did _you_ meet Jou?"

"Oh…me?" Yugi thought back to the story, smile teeming from cheek-to-cheek. He sighed, nestling comfortably in his seat. "We were five…no, six, I think. My mother took me to see Grandpa for the first time since I was born and…there Jou was. He was standing right in the middle of Kame Game Shop, staring at some action figures. Then, he turned to me, and…" Yugi frowned.

"What?" Lavender eyes flickered with interest. "What stupid thing did the little moron do?"

"He blew in my face." Another giggle left Yugi's throat. He continued laughing softly and raked a hand through his hair as his ears tingled pink. "I'd gotten so scared that I started to cry, and…and…he freaked out, because he thought I was a lot younger, I guess, and said that he saw a 'pretty star' and thought if he blew on me, his wish would come true."

"Really?" Malik grinned. "Hot damn, you gotta wonder where his common sense is sometimes, now don't you."

"Yeah…that's Jou for you." He smiled back, amethyst eyes twinkling with amusement. It'd been a while since he relived the story of when he met one of his best friends; he was starting to miss it. "Since then I've visited every once in a while during the years. Living here really doesn't feel any different." Except for the navis, the Top List, the business life... Maybe a little different, Yugi recollected. He giggled again.

Malik stared at him again. "You're really cute, Yugi."

"Huhwhat?" Pink-violet eyes flickered in confusion. Yugi looked up, cheeks enveloping with a pink blush as he picked apart what the tan teenager just told him. "D…did you just call me _cute_?"

"Yugi, you just giggled." Malik stared at him like it solved everything. He arched an eyebrow, instinctively pressing an app on his navi before revealing the bottom of the Top List. "Do you know why you keep breaking the hundreds and faltering?"

He shrugged. "No?"

"It all happens in three steps." Malik held up three fingers in attempt to prove his theory. "The first step is your resemblance to Atemu Yamino."

"And everyone loves Atemu Yamino because he's at number one." Yugi sighed softly, remembering immediately to his first day of school. It wasn't a memory that he was particularly fond of, but everyone had the intent to throw it in his face about their resemblance. "That's something anyone could see, Malik."

"No," the other shook his head sharply and rolled his eyes. "Everyone loves Atemu Yamino because he's _king_; because he's the fucking mayor's son. He walks around the school with that type of authority on his shoulders and people _expect_ him to rule. That's why when they see you, they think you're the second Atemu and expect big things from you."

"And after close examination, they see a shrimp." Yugi's eyes narrowed, obviously not liking where this was going. He looked away, hand raking through his hair. He'd gotten this talk so many times before; reliving it for the thousandth time made him indifferent. "They see that I'm small, quiet, and not as 'hot' as their beloved Atemu Yamino, right?"

"That's a good thing." Malik ruffled his hair. "I'd rather be hanging out with the small quiet you than some ass like the _king._ That's why people think you're so cute, Yugi. That's the one thing that's bringing you back up; you're not popular because you're hot, you're popular because you're five-feet of adorableness."

"Er…well…" Yugi's eyes widened. A blush crept upon his cheeks, overwhelmed by the flurry of unexpected comments. The last time he had been called cute was by his grandfather of all people, and he was five.

"Marik."

Both teenagers cocked to the doorway where none other than Atemu himself stood. He peeped his head in the frame, eyebrow arched. "Are you planning to spend the entire day here?"

With a loud, obnoxious rattle, the taller teenager behind the pair stood up. His chair fell abruptly to the ground and he joined his friend at the door. Yugi and Malik watched with quaint distaste as Marik mumbled something to Atemu. From speculation, whatever Marik told his leader was enough to shock him. Yugi's stomach churned as Atemu's eyes slowly rested upon his form. He smiled back, trying best to hide his reluctance.

"You coming home this time?"

"No." Yugi shook his head, smile broadening. "Can you tell Mahado that?"

"Mm." Crimson eyes scrutinized him. Yugi briefly looked away, intent on carrying on a conversation with the friend beside him. There was the weird oddity about one Atemu Yamino; he would often start scrutinizing an uncomfortable Yugi Mutou, no matter the situation. Prank after prank, Yugi found himself the source of Atemu's gaze while he recovered and said nothing in protest.

_I know some things about you, too, you know._ Yugi laughed softly, gathering his things before finally getting up. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding once the door slid close and Atemu and Marik were nowhere to be found. When he turned back, Malik's incredulous stare met him in the face. "A-ah!" Yugi flinched, slowly backing away. His eyes doubled in size and he pouted. "What was that for?"

"How can you two speak on civil terms when he hates your guts?" Malik rested both hands on his hips and arched an eyebrow. "It's true, isn't it? He doesn't like you very much."

Yugi shrugged. "It's one of the inevitable things that bind us together. Seto's contract binds him and me together unless this business deal goes sour. I guess he just finds it odd that I'd rather stay over at Jou's place than the one my grandfather had me to."

Malik nodded slowly. "I see…do you still want me to walk you through the rain?"

"If you really want to."

"Goodie."

The two left the school building, mildly exchanging conversation about one of Yugi's favorite places: Egypt. His grandfather had the unusual interest for archeology and often went around many places of the world, intent on satisfying his need for discovery. With each place he went to he brought foreign games kids of all ages would enjoy. Egypt had been one of Yugi's favorite places where his grandfather would always visit. The fact that Malik, his brother, and sister once resided in Egypt was enough to fascinate him.

"That's really cool." Yugi smiled as he dug through his locker for his umbrella. Finally finding it, his smile widened and he teetered behind Malik. The other pulled him forward and to his side. Yugi looked at him questionably, but shrugged it off. "So why the big move, then?"

"Mom left us long ago. After Dad died, Rishid figured that it would be good to start out fresh." Malik shrugged, the pair finally out the gates of Puzzle High with both umbrellas raised. "Isis agreed and here we are now, citizens of Millennia. We go back every summer though; to give thanks to my father and my mother."

Yugi nodded, taking in the information. He smiled pitifully and shrugged. "It's a shame about your parents. Your brother sounds really nice though; I'd love to meet him."

"Thanks." Malik nodded slowly and smiled. "And your brother?"

"Ah…" Yugi shifted between his feet nervously and fiddled with a string dangling from his cane. "He and I…don't really look a lot alike, I guess. You couldn't really tell that we were brothers, honestly. He looks like Dad…I look like Mom…wh-whoa!" Yugi squeaked clumsily as Malik wrapped an arm around him protectively. A car drove by far too fast and knocked the two on the sidewalk.

Yugi grunted, eyes wide as rain pelted his shirt. The car drove by, and he frowned. Crimson eyes stared back placidly.

--

"Where to hit first?" Marik looked over to Atemu expectantly, mouth contorting into a wicked smirk. "Any place in particular?"

"Maybe the café." Atemu shrugged nonchalantly, arms perched behind him. He arched a disapproving eyebrow to Marik's unsettling frown. "Are you still going to argue with me about my little question?"

"Just saying." His livid orbs flickered as they came to a stoplight. "This is probably your most prized target, you know."

"Oh?" Marik's little comment earlier rang in Atemu's ears. Yugi Mutou actually stood up for himself. He arched a wary eyebrow, mind drifting back to the course of events leading up to him sitting comfortably in Marik's car. There was a reluctant flicker in Yugi's eyes every time he spoke to Atemu. If the shorter noticed Atemu noticed, he was quite good at concealing it, but Atemu was positive that wasn't the case. Yugi always smiled, despite any discomfort.

At first glance they looked alike. At second people were raging one was a poseur and the other was the real deal. At third, each was praised with their own physique and attributes. Yugi was sweet and cuddly, Atemu was…not. Perhaps it was just a personal thing; his being irked by Mutou's presence. Still, something about it must have been important enough for Atemu to feel so negative about it.

"Mutou can be harassed by anyone but isn't by everyone." Marik wriggled his eyebrows, scowl delicately pressing across his features. "If you haven't noticed, dear bastard of mine, your petty minions back you up on the decision to bully him. The only thing is he doesn't give two shits about it."

"Like hell I don't know that," Atemu grumbled. He rolled his eyes and rested his head against the window.

"What I'm saying, great asshole of mine," Marik snorted, sarcasm dripping with his tongue, "is that because this midget looks like your damn shadow, most think that's your motive for harassing him and do it the same. Fucking shit, Atemu, you don't even have to lift a finger. All you have to do is sit there and wait for the abuse to come _for_ you."

Atemu opened one eye and stared his friend in the face. That, surprisingly enough, was good information. He sat up once they reached the small café and hoisted himself out of the car. "So then, what do you suggest?"

"Like I said." Marik arched an eyebrow, locking his car doors before they made their way to the café. "Sit your royal ass in that handy-dandy throne you carry in your pocket and wait for it to come to you. All you have to do is come up with some big thing to make Mutou cry and let everyone else do the rest."

"Oh, really?" Atemu rolled his eyes and slapped a five-dollar bill on the counter. "The usual." He turned back to his best friend. "We haven't gone too far. Without a doubt most of the things we've done is mere child's play."

"That's what you're doing, isn't it," Marik teased as he picked three one-dollar bills from his pocket, "playing with a child? Out of all the shit he's getting, Yamino, you're certainly the most gentle."

"As gentle as Jonouchi's ass is in puppy boxers." Atemu shuddered and clutched the frappuccino given to him. He gave the cashier a quiet thanks and guided them both to the nearest booth. "I suppose I can let them do whatever the hell they want."

"Oh, hell no."

"Fuck, Marik. You want me to be a king on my ass or not?"

"You're _already_ a king on your ass." Marik rolled his eyes and shoved his banana nut muffin in his mouth. "Aw' sayin' ith, d'you beth kick i' up a not."

"Kick it up a notch? Seto's already got something in mind." Atemu sipped his drink and wiped the forming foam-mustache on his upper lip. Crimson eyes flickered reclusively and focused on the tiny bubbles of his drink. Marik noticed this immediately.

"Mom coming home?"

"Mm."

"Tch." Marik rolled his eyes and abruptly sat up in his chair. He grumbled about something under his breath before briefly mentioning, "'gotta go piss."

Atemu leaned back in his chair, taking yet another sip of his drink. He sat leniently for a moment, contemplating whether or not to buy a muffin like the one Marik had graciously crammed down his throat, and grimaced.

"Hi, best friend!"

Then he cringed. Crimson eyes slowly peered up to the emeralds staring him right back in the face. Atemu ran a hand through his hair and opened his mouth to protest the other sitting across from him, but it was too late. Mana Hudson plopped happily in the seat formally belonging to Marik with a smile plastered across her face. "Hi...Mana."

"Are you doing well?" she chirped. Mana snatched the frappuccino in Atemu's grip and took a yummy sip. "Wow! You have really good taste! Is this caramel, Atemu? You don't really look like you'd enjoy caramel. Then again…you are kind of tan, like caramel. Hey, are you Mexican? A border hopper? You jump rope well?"

"…half Egyptian on my mother's side." Atemu arched an eyebrow, eyes following as Mana nestled in her seat. He fearfully wondered if not taking his drink back would do him harm somewhere in the future.

They sat in silence with Mana's slurping being the only annoying thing heard under the light music and call for orders. She looked at him, eyes beaming happily. Atemu fidgeted in his seat and looked up.

"Um. Do you want something?"

"What?" Her eyes widened in confusion and she immediately shook her head. "Oh, heavens no, best friend! I just saw you here, so I figured that I'd give you some company. 'coz you looked lonely and stuff…you know?"

"Uh…kay." His eyes slowly traced her form, from the beige bandana perched atop her head to the clothes she wore. The school pin adorned the many jewels she put in her hat. The other stuff she wore was exactly how Atemu remembered her from when they were younger. Mana always had two looks; flippy, flowy skirts that perked with her smile, high boots and comfy shirts. Other days she came to school dressed as a boy; boot-cut jeans, t-shirts far too big for her, and a go-lucky smile stretching her cheeks. The latter she wore today, just like the clothes she'd lent Yugi a few short weeks ago.

"Yugi's really cute, you know?"

"Bwha?" Atemu snapped out of his scrutiny, eyes narrowing to the girl. She pushed his half-empty frappuccino in front of him and sat back in her seat, feet dangling.

"He, best friend, is really cute." Mana giggled softly and pulled a lock of chocolate hair behind her ear. "He has a lot of patience, too. Then again, you kind of have to, to deal with someone like me. How do _you_ manage to?"

"Simple. We were in middle school, none of that really mattered. I just walked around with some monkey hanging on my back." Atemu rolled his eyes and jabbed a finger in her face. "You: monkey. Me: Atemu."

"Ah," she murmured softly. She took in a deep breath and rested her eyes on Atemu. "Well, I guess a lot of things just change then, huh?"

"You don't always have the same best friends you do in middle school." Atemu thought about it slowly and shrugged. "Just what is it about Mutou that intrigues you, anyway?"

"What intrigues me?" Mana repeated. She blinked for a moment, quietly contemplating this question. Another smile fell across her features before she abruptly stood up. "I guess the same reason as you. Ahwellgottago, bye!"

Atemu arched a curious eyebrow before shaking it off. He waved goodbye to the charismatic girl, faintly ill about letting her leave with so much caffeine in her system. When he turned back, he was immediately enticed by the sight of a white-haired boy--Ryou Inoue--rushing out of the bathroom and Marik in hot pursit. His friend scowled angrily before plopping in front of him.

Atemu arched an eyebrow. "And that was about…?"

"Oh, sports. Politics. Fucking pigs. The usual." Marik's scowl worsened and he looked away. "You want me to drop you off at Seto's?"

"Oh, the usual."

--

"So, um…" Yugi scratched his head for the third time since their little meeting started. He shifted in the cushioned seat Seto Kaiba had pushed him into about forty-five minutes ago, legs dangling helplessly under him. Amethyst eyes narrowed as he watched Seto's eyes continue to fall on Yugi's navi. At first when Seto had started staring at it, Yugi uncomfortably shifted it to his right, figuring he was only being paranoid of Seto's eyes. When blue eyes insisted on following the god forsaken device, he had a hunch there was more to it than this.

"Mm?" Seto's grunts echoed down his luscious walls.

Yugi shrugged. They'd barely gotten anything done in the forty-five minutes he was there. Malik insisted on also walking him to Jou's since the weather would worsen, but Yugi (barely) managed to usher his friend off. "Um…"

"If you have something to say, Mister Mutou," Yugi inwardly cringed at the lucid tone, "feel free to. You're under no obligation to stay silent. You came here because you wanted to get work done, right? While I'd rather have talked to your grandfather, he obviously trusted you for a reason. You must be a real business protégé for him to let you sort this out with me."

"Well…no." Seto was glaring at him now. Yugi lamented freedom, but it was obvious that he wouldn't be getting it any time soon. He quickly checked the time: **_5:55PM_**_. _Finally, Yugi decided to change the subject and sat erect in his seat. "Well…does he always come here?"

That certainly caught Seto's interest. "Who?"

"Er…Jou. I mean, there are times of the day where I see just Ryou or Malik, so I don't always see him. I just…you know." Yugi awkwardly raked his hand through his hair for the fourth time (was this a bad habit of his? He would have to ask Jou once he got to the apartment) and looked to the metal desk separating Seto Kaiba from strangling him that very moment. "I didn't expect that out of all the people to visit, he would come to see you. The screaming in frustration and calling you the 'B' word though, that's something he would do." And using the "F" word, the "S" word, the "D" word…well, Yugi knew Jonouchi had an apparent hate for one Seto Kaiba, he just wasn't sure how commonly it extended outside of school.

"It's a weekly thing." Seto's voice dripped wryly as he rolled his eyes. "Mutt complains to me because he ranks number one on the list for stupidity every week. Calls me a douche and storms out. Is that all?"

"Um, I guess." Yugi arched an eyebrow, taking quick note to ask Jou about it later. His attention was torn away when his navi vibrated for the first time in twenty minutes. He looked up apologetically. "Sorry, I keep putting it on silent but it doesn't…"

"No, no." Seto tried his best not to look antsy. "Look at it. See if the stupid stray dog found his way home."

Yugi slowly nodded, hand resting on his navi. He picked it up and surfed through the many features before finally finding his inbox. From Jou. Quickly, he read it and smiled. "Good, he made it home okay."

"Ah." Seto let out a heavy breath and rested in his chair. He turned around, eyes resting on the large glass window before he grimaced. "The weather is supposed to get worse. I have to go home soon and make sure my brother is okay."

"Oh." Yugi frowned. "Maybe we can hold the meeting another day?"

"Tomorrow, then."

"Uh," Yugi shook his head and smiled, "tomorrow's no good for me, Seto. Could we hold it next weekend or something?"

"Duly noted." Seto nodded and gestured to the window where rain had gotten a lot harder. "Do I need to call you a ride back to the mansion?"

"I'm walking to Jou's."

Blank stare.

"Er, Jonouchi-kun?" Ah. Yugi smiled at the realization plastered across the other's face as he pushed himself out of the chair. He gathered his things at the foot of the chair and gestured to the door. "I'll keep in touch with you if I need anything."

"Mm."

"And Seto?"

"What?"

"You're…really nice when you're not around Atemu." Yugi blinked again, a silly smile plastering across his face as he finally stood next to the exit. He laughed softly and shrugged. "Then again, we're business partners. Don't worry too much about what we do in school and what we do in business. As far as I'm concerned, we're two businessmen seeking to chain Kame Game Shop."

"Uh…" Seto arched an eyebrow, obviously confused of this choice.

"Er, well… Bye--oof!" Yugi fell to the floor after slamming straight into the opening door. He groaned softly and rubbed his head, cursing himself for being so clumsy before looking up. Crimson eyes met his gaze, full of curiosity and irritation for his fault. He nervously smiled. "Sorry, Atemu."

Atemu didn't look the least bit amused. He arched an eyebrow, looking between his cousin and the brat he shared a house with and smirked. "You're sorry that I accidentally slammed a door in your face?"

"Uh…" Pink-violet eyes doubled in size. Yugi scratched his head nervously and shrugged. "I guess. Well, bye Seto, Atemu!" He stood up quickly and scurried out the door. It automatically slid close. He rested his back on it and hugged his knees to his body. Wow, that was close. He picked at his navi, reminding himself that Jou's message told him to come straight back to the apartment. He smiled softly and wandered down the hall.

When he got to the lobby, he kindly said goodbye to the secretary and followed up to the glass doors. He reached for his umbrella…only to realize his umbrella was missing. Yugi's eyes widened in surprise as he patted the rest of him to see where his things were.

They weren't on him. He remembered distinctly picking them up before leaving Seto's office…where Atemu opened the door right in his face. Yugi smacked himself and groaned. Everything had fallen out of his grasp and he was too blinded with wanting to collect his things! Eyebrows furrowed, he went back to the secretary and informed her he most likely wouldn't be leaving until Seto's next meeting was over. She kindly told him he could wait in the lobby till then arrived and Yugi continued to dwell on the matter.

If it were up to him, he would like to be out of there as soon as possible. He rolled his eyes, quick to email Jou about his delayed arrival. After a few seconds, Jou pinged and offered to pick him up. No, the storm was getting worse by the second. Yugi sat erect in his seat, eyes following as the moon arose where the sun left. The lights from outside quickly caught his eye. Yugi watched, intrigued by the sight as a man approached the door and welcomed himself in.

"Mahado?" Yugi asked curiously. Amethyst eyes narrowed at the tall man. "Isn't it a little crazy for you to be out in this weather?"

Mahado looked at him, quite astonished himself. He stood next to Yugi with amusement crossing his face. "I should say the same to you, Master Yugi. Surly there's a car that will be taking you to the Jonouchi place?"

"What? No." Yugi shook his head as embarrassment seeped through his features. "I left my umbrella up in Seto's office and I'm waiting for Atemu to leave to retrieve it. I'll be walking over there--"

"You'll do no such thing." Glass eyes widened with horror at the very thought. Mahado shook his head, eyes narrowing to the short boy sitting in front of him. He immediately recoiled, but the concern in his eyes did not fade. "Sorry, Master Yugi. The weather is getting far too unpredictable for you to do that. While with us, you do have the freedom, I strongly recommend…no…" He sighed in frustration and closed his eyes. "Yugi Mutou, if you dare go out in that storm in this hour with nothing but an umbrella, I'll pick you up and throw you in the car myself, understood?"

"Ah..er…" Yugi's eyes widened. He looked at Mahado with mild curiosity and slowly nodded his head. "O…okay then, Mahado. I'll just have to email Jou before we leave. By the way…I thought that butlers weren't allowed to disclose their feelings."

Mahado sighed in relief and chuckled. "Let me assure you, Master Yugi, that I am no ordinary butler."

"I'll keep that in mind." Yugi nodded in return and grinned. They carried on a conversation for five minutes, Yugi mostly asking questions while Mahado answered as informatively and helpfully as possible. Mahado was apparently twenty-one, only five years older than them, and had worked for the family since he was fifteen. He dropped out of high school early, gained his G.E.D., and had an interesting knack for magic.

In return, Yugi answered all the occasional questions Mahado had as well; his birthday (June 4th), what his favorite meal was (hamburgers), what kind of hobbies he liked (playing card games and solving puzzles), the usual. Yugi, as Mahado already knew, was comfortable at Jou's apartment and was one of Seto Kaiba's new business partners.

A full fifteen minutes passed before both Seto and Atemu appeared in the elevator, Yugi's things in tow. Both stopped in front of Yugi and Mahado, equally surprised.

"You left your things up there." Atemu arched a suspicious eyebrow and tossed Yugi's backpack and umbrella his way. "'figured you'd just come by the house when the storm let up."

Yugi caught his bag and stumbled with the umbrella. He smiled happily. "Thank you, and…no. I'm actually going to your house and staying today."

"Oh." Once again, Yugi found himself the source of all of Atemu's scrutiny. He shifted his feet, looked at the ground and stood up as Mahado left to inform the driver to start the engine. "I suppose if there's enough room in the car. Bye, Seto."

"Bye." Seto nodded to both of them and wandered down an anonymous hallway.

Amethyst eyes looked up, quickly catching the glaze of irritation shining through crimson red. Yugi looked back down and pulled his backpack over his shoulders. He moved to open his umbrella, but Atemu quickly stopped him.

"It's bad luck to open an umbrella indoors." Atemu rolled his eyes and took the thing out of the shorter's grasp. "Moron."

"Er, right." Yugi shifted between his feet once again, praying Mahado would hurry up.

Mahado exchanged a smile between the both of them. "Are you both ready?"

Atemu teetered behind Mahado as they left. Yugi stumbled over the carpet and sighed. "Ready."

--

**Author's Note:**

And that be the look in the daily lives of one Atemu Yamino and Yugi Mutou! Bit of time-speeding, but the pranks are only one part of the story, so having a few planted in here seemed to wasteful. Hope this gives you good insight on what's yet to come and uh, reviews would be nice! Thank you for your responses!


	4. Together Separately

**-**

**Chapter 4: **Together Separately

-

Donuts. You could never really have too many donuts, really. Some were with sprinkles, some were glazed, others were chocolate and some strawberry. Heck, it was even better when a chocolate-iced donut had chocolate cream filling. God, what was better than--ughohgodwhy he still _watching this?!_

Yugi groaned audibly and plopped a grape in his mouth. He tightened his blanket over his ears and watched with less-than-enthusiastic amusement as the fifth Dunkin' Donuts commercial in the past thirty minutes came on. Amethyst eyes narrowed expectantly and he grumpily muttered the motto under his breath. _"Live your mornings Dunkin'!_"

He buried his face in the couch cushion and shuddered. Even in a room far away from the window, he was able to hear the booming thunder. He bit his lip and clasped both hands on his ears. Breathe. Yugi peered back to the tv, thankful that the power had not been cut off yet. He fingered the navi safe on his lap and wrapped himself deeper in his little cocoon. A donut sounded _really_ good right now. His navi softly pinged and a smile fell across his face.

_Jou - __**How can I be okay with my best friend being so far away from me?**_

"The apartment complex is only down the street, silly."

_Malik - __**You went eight long hours without emailing--let me kick his ass NOW.**_

"It's six in the morning. I had to get SOME sleep, you know."

_Ryou - __**Head up, Yugi. PS: Don't listen to anything Jou and Malik say. Jou drank the week-expired milk and has been weird ever since.**_

That…was new. Yugi's smile burst into full-on laughter. He stifled himself and forced each laugh into giggles. With a soft sigh, Yugi's eyes once again landed on the large plasma screen hanging from the wall. With surround sound.

He plopped another grape in his mouth and hugged the pillow close to him. Three hours--that'd been how long he was up. Maybe he never even went to bed; maybe he just stayed there, sitting like a statue in front of the tv after Mahado tried to get him to eat food and Atemu waltzed upstairs to be left undisturbed.

Yugi went to bed soon after that, but the thunder kept him up. And…the lightning. He shivered, face pressed against his pillow. He wasn't used to this type of living and _certainly_ did he not want to be. Everything…echoed.

He heard another boom of thunder and yelped. It wasn't fun and it certainly wasn't fair. At that very second, the lovely television set decided it was time to go off in a bunch of jitters and high-pitched sounds. Yugi jumped off the couch and clutched the remote control in his hand. God, what button, what _button_?!

_--_

"God, fucking _shit…_"

He dropped the remote from his hand, which ultimately landed on his foot. Yugi squeaked again, toes curling at the sensation. Atemu was coming down the stairs--he could already _hear_ it. Yugi had a fair hunch that Atemu was _not_ a morning person. He fell to the ground in an attempt to find the controller, but was met with a knee.

Atemu yanked him right back up, remote in hand. Weary crimson eyes glared at him the face with mouth partly open. "Should I even ask?"

Uh… "You…sleep in your boxers?"

Crap. Yugi's eyes fell down to said boxers adorned in black, yellow, and red. Strange color combination, but it suited the taller. Atemu had many reasons to why he ranked number one on the Top List, his looks being one of them. He was tanner than most, but only noticeable when one squinted and well-fitted muscles to go with his slender stature. Atemu's face was high and pointed, slim and narrow. His eyes were daunting and intimidating and tight lips were always held in a frown.

Strangely enough despite the fact that Atemu held such a regal reputation at their school, Yugi was sure that the image of Atemu in his boxers was twice as intimidating. It was kinda funny; not that he would say that out loud.

The other scoffed, eyes narrowing with a haze of hostility. He flipped the one button Yugi never got to try out on the tv and shoved him in the couch. "Go back to fucking bed."

"Uh, right." Amethyst eyes widened at the tv which was now switched off. He turned back to Atemu, who was already halfway back up the stairs. It echoed along with the heavy rain outside.

A three-story house. Floors made out of polished wood and chandeliers hanging wherever they needed to be. No lights, no comfort, and no sanctuary to call his own. Yugi sighed.

Home sweet home.

--

Bakura and he had dates that afternoon. After a little "genuine" swaying with Anzu Mazaki, Atemu was able to convince her to go out on a date with him. Actually, to be more realistic…she kind of begged him. Atemu wasn't sure if he should have taken it as a compliment or an insult to his pride when the girl confronted him in the hallway Wednesday after school. Despite the series of events that recently happened she only smiled with a blush stemming from her cheeks, saying he was a good guy at heart and certainly didn't _look_ like he could ever harm anyone.

Many people thought that though; that he was just some misunderstood bad boy who rebelled against the world. Stupid stereotype; he'd fucking kick the person who came up with its ass when he found them. Still, it helped to get girls.

With that in mind, Atemu snatched his navi from its adaptor, put on a black long-sleeve, leather pants and his steel-toed boots. He checked the time--12:06PM. He was supposed to go hang out at the mall on the other side of Millennia and get a new game before picking up the girls at four. Atemu grabbed his wallet and took slow steps downstair--

"You're still here." Crimson eyes glazed with sudden suspicion and curiosity as he made his last steps down to the second floor. His eyes narrowed to the lump on the couch covered by a giant baby blue comforter. Hair soon peeped out, followed by large, pink-violet eyes.

"Oh." Yugi's voice was full of air. He let out the heavy breath he'd been holding and smiled. "Well, so are you."

Atemu rolled his eyes and turned to the second flight of stairs that would take him to the first floor. "I'm leaving."

"Mahado won't let you." He halted and turned back around, scowl ready on his face. Yugi immediately recoiled, arms snuggling closer to his pillow. Yugi pursed his lips and turned away, eyes resting on the blank television screen. "It's still raining too hard outside. Mahado wants both of us to stay inside in case something happens."

"Bull." He had a date tonight! Atemu ran a hand through his hair, murmured a few curses and plopped in the armchair next to the couch. Yugi stared at him curiously. "What?" he snapped.

"Nothing." Yugi sat up on the cushion and poked at the few grapes in the bowl on the table.

Atemu's eyes turned back to the tv and he took out his navi to quickly emailing both Anzu and Bakura the change of events. This wasn't something to look forward to. For twelve minutes after he automatically flipped to pay per view and clicked _The Legacy of the Black Magician_, they were silent.

"Red shirt," Yugi murmured quietly.

"Bwa?"

"You'd look better in a red shirt." Yugi perched himself on the sofa couch, eyes analyzing the form before him. He smiled softly and hugged his pillow to his chest. "It would bring out your eyes. A red shirt, low collar and a black vest. I have a black vest, if you want to borrow one."

"And?" Atemu had never thought about _that_ color combination. He barely had any red shirts in his closet, truth be told.

"And…black skinny jeans. Then again, I think you could pull off the look either way. Black just looks good on you, I guess." Yugi watched him expectantly before a small smile spread across his lips. "Anzu Mazaki, right? She's really pretty; I hope you have a good time with her."

Uh…

"Don't give me that look. Despite what you think, I _have_ dated before." Yugi frowned, eyes narrowing at the taller teenager across from him. "And be careful with her. Anzu has good intentions, but she's easily swayed when she thinks she can change a person."

Atemu's curiously was finally piqued. He bent over, fingers intertwined together as Yugi's words finally sank in. "You act like you've known her your entire life or something like that."

Yugi's entire expression turned blue. He looked away and pulled the sheets over his head before mumbling some inaudible words.

"Excuse me?"

Mumblemumblemumble…

"Mutou, I can't fucking hear you if you don't--"

"We used to be friends. That is--until her dancing got the best of her, okay?" Yugi sighed in exasperation and rolled his eyes. "We were really good friends when we were little whenever I came to visit and then when I finally transferred here, we didn't hang out as much."

"Of course. Things change. You can't expect her to be dating any person that's at the bottom of the list, now can you?" Atemu's eyes narrowed at Yugi's writhing form.

Yugi limply shrugged. Another silence subdued them and they busied themselves with the movie on screen.

"I have that black vest, you know," Yugi admitted after another fifteen minutes had passed. "If you want to borrow it. And a red shirt."

Atemu rolled his eyes. "I don't wear red."

"Well, you should." A hint of amusement brushed against the shorter's tone. He laughed softly and hugged his knees to his chest. "The leather's nice, but it doesn't exactly scream 'almighty King Atemu Yamino', if you think about it."

"Your mom."

"She likes to dance," Yugi continued without hitch, "do you know how to dance?"

"Why the hell are you still talking?"

"I just figured that it would be a good idea to make conversation with the guy I'll be living with for the rest of high school."

"I beat you up on a regular basis."

"No, your many clones do. Even if you did beat me up on a regular basis, it still would be better if I at least tried to be friends with you." Yugi lay back on the armrest and plopped a wrinkled grape between his lips.

Atemu sighed and tore his attention away from the tv screen. "You really get on my nerves."

"I bet when you realize I'm more of a compatible dance partner with Anzu, I'll _really_ get on your nerves." Yugi grinned coyly as a giggle left his lips. "Don't take her out to some random romantic place. The easiest way to get to her heart is to dance. Maybe DDR at the mall or a nice restaurant where she can tango, lambada, salsa. That kind of stuff. I--whoops." He flinched as his navi twitched and held it up, only for it to fall out of his hands, be thrown halfway across the room and land in Atemu's lap.

"Good job." Atemu rolled his eyes and picked the thing up. He automatically began fiddling with the controls before the email app appeared. "Mana Hudson. You're emailing _Mana Hudson_ of all people?"

Yugi crawled out of his position, literally tackling Atemu for his navi back. He landed stomach first across Atemu's lap and held the hell device tight. "Yes."

Atemu was speechless. It was the first time there was so much ice in Yugi's tone whenever they spoke. Normally the younger boy would be all smiles with reluctance tickling his lips or fiery and annoyed when he occasionally snapped.

"Get off of me."

"Say please."

"Get off of me."

"Say please."

"Dammit," Atemu hissed angrily. The sudden thunder made him flinch and once he returned to his senses, he realized that Yugi had wrapped his arms around him tightly. Crimson eyes flickered with mild curiosity and he crossed his arms. "You can let go now."

"Uh, right." Yugi's grip slipped and he tumbled off the taller teenager. He brushed out the wrinkles in his pajamas--

"You've been down here all morning." Atemu examined Yugi up and down, eyebrows arched with surprise. Once he confirmed his speculation, he grabbed Yugi by the shoulder and crinkled his nose. "That's insanitary."

"I…I know." Yugi looked away, red tingling at his cheeks. "Do…you know how to dance?"

"Yes."

"Can you _salsa_?" Pink-violet eyes flickered with amusement as they turned back to the crimson in front of them. A grin tickled his face and he shifted between his feet. "Anzu would love you forever if you knew how to salsa."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope." Pink tickled his cheeks and he softly tugged at Atemu's arm. After three light pulls, Atemu at least thought it best to humor the shorter boy. Yugi stared at him in surprise.

"What?" Atemu's eyes narrowed at the younger.

"N-Nothing…" Yugi apprehensively looked to the ground and between his feet. He sighed deeply and attempted to push the couch out of the way. After only getting it a few inches to the right, the taller once again pitied him enough to help him move furniture. "I'll be the girl."

Atemu snorted. "Like I'm surprised."

"I'll be the girl," the shorter repeated without a pause and grabbed his navi. A few seconds after fiddling with the options, salsa music boomed and echoed throughout the entire room. He crossed the room to get to Atemu, only to accidentally trip and fall over his face. "Owie…"

"Are you as light on your feet in the dance floor as you are in real life?" Crimson eyes glimmered with amusement. He crossed his arms and watched as Yugi staggered getting up.

With a small frown, Yugi pushed himself off the ground and slowly came in contact with the other. His fingers reached out, grabbing hold of Atemu's own. He put a tan arm around his waist and laced his fingers with the other. "I guess we should take this slow."

"Will you fall on your face?"

"Step, step, turn around. Sway your hips a little more; it's a salsa, not a waltz." Yugi's hand reached out and squeezed Atemu's hip in an attempt to prove his point. Atemu shook off his grip and Yugi pouted. "You're not making this any easier."

"All teachers have that one stubborn student who won't do shit for them, Mutou." Atemu rolled his eyes and mimicked Yugi's movements. "Don't expect me to do anything for you. Ever."

"I know," Yugi murmured softly. He halted abruptly, eyes widening. His eyes immediately started to water.

"What?"

"N-Nothing," he squeaked. Yugi's fingernails dug into Atemu's hand as he continued the little lesson. "Left, left…sway your hips, Atemu. The salsa is all about moving your body with the rhy--"

"You stopped again." Atemu arched an eyebrow and moved a bit back. "Are you going to teach me a lesson, or are you going to--"

_**BOOM.**_

"A-Ah!" Yugi immediately recoiled, eyes shutting as he pulled Atemu closer and into an embrace. The lights flickered on and off with a high screech before finally settling to stay off. Atemu fell to the ground at Yugi's immediate tackle and felt all of the oxygen being squeezed out of him.

Atemu let out a raw breath, gritting his teeth as Yugi clung to his neck. "Chill," he hissed irritably, "the power just went out. Mahado will come here any second to see if we're okay and have flashlights."

Silence on the other side. Thunder continued to boom until a bare crack of thunder startled the both of them. Yugi squeezed him tighter.

"Mutou, let go." No answer. Atemu snorted, eyebrow raised with mild amusement. "What, is little Yugi Mutou scared of the thunder? You can be such a girl--_let go_." And then he felt it: trembling.

Yugi's fingernails dug into Atemu's back and he continued gripping onto Atemu for the light of day. Short quick sobs left his throat and the taller felt warm tears to his shirt.

He caught his breath, eyes narrowing to the little teen under him. Thunder cracked again and Yugi buried his head further into Atemu's chest.

My god. It wasn't even that bad, Atemu thought as he rolled his eyes. He awkwardly began rubbing Yugi on the back to coax him into letting go and thought how when it thundered, the acoustics were far worse upstairs--_oh_. His eyes widened and narrowed to the kid who refused to let go of him. "Hey," he mumbled a bit more pathetically, "you're really scared, aren't you?"

Yugi whimpered in return.

God dammit. Atemu sighed and the awkward rubs to Yugi's back became more long and defined as he soothed the boy's fears. He wrapped his fingers around each of the other's wrists and hoisted him in his arms. For an odd second, Atemu abruptly halted from how he carried the boy. Light. One Yugi Mutou was quite possibly the lightest person he had ever lifted and fit perfectly in his arms.

"Wh…what are you doing?" Yugi muttered fearfully.

"Taking you to the couch. I'd take you downstairs, but I have a feeling that neither of us would survive." Atemu rolled his eyes, night vision finally kicking in. He humored himself, thinking how out of all the rooms of their three-story house, why his father decided to put the living room in a windowless place. His thoughts went back to how Yugi filled out the rest of his body and fit perfectly into him. It was the first time Mutou ever showed him any emotion and he was quite sure that out of _anything_ Atemu ever wanted to see of Yugi, crying was the last.

He nonchalantly prepared to toss him on the couch, but Yugi's grip was firm. He refused to let go and only tightened the grip around Atemu. "God, you can be such a fucking girl, Mutou," Atemu snapped. He immediately regretted his burst of anger once Yugi flinched again. _Good thoughts, Atemu, good thoughts…_With a soft sigh, he gently lowered Yugi to the sofa.

"I wouldn't let go of you unless I knew you were safe, okay?" Atemu leaned over and pressed his body gently to Yugi's in attempt to assure him he was on the couch. "I'm right here, Mutou."

After a few seconds, Yugi's grip fell limp in his arms before letting to. Yugi's soft hiccups tingled in Atemu's ears as he cornered the couch and stood parallel to Yugi, flashlight app handy on his navi. As he set it on the table, Atemu turned both the tv off and grabbed hold of Yugi's navi on the shelf.

All the while, amethyst eyes followed his movements. Atemu thought to sit in the armchair next to the couch, but settled on the couch instead. "Hi."

"Hi…" Yugi croaked. Silence followed them before his fingers reached for the blanket and covered himself.

"What," Atemu scoffed with disapproval. "Are you just going to hide under there all day until the big, bad rain cloud is gone?" Once silence was his answer, Atemu softened again and rested his head behind him. "This is the part where you're supposed to retaliate."

Still no answer.

_BOOM._

Atemu fidgeted once he felt the other boy flinch and curl into himself. Gah, what was he supposed to do? The last person he ever had to comfort was Marik in the fourth grade when they put his hamster in the microwave and forgot to take him out before popping popcorn. Of course back then, Atemu had only slapped his friend silly until he sucked it up, but he doubted slapping Yugi would get him to stop freaking out.

_Besides,_ he thought with a sigh as his eyes landed on the frightened kid next to him, _Marik was being stupid. Yugi is really scared._

"You," he decided to strike up conversation, "never told me why you were down here in the first place."

There was another muffled answer. Atemu absentmindedly smacked his leg and smirked at his accomplishment once Yugi sat up. Hair disheveled and eyes swollen from crying, the shorter looked away again.

"Hey," Atemu frowned and cupped Yugi's face. "Look at me. I'm not swearing, not calling you a douche and I'm not going to leave you. Everyone's scared of something; I can understand if you're humiliated and stuff like that…"

"I'm used to it," Yugi mumbled softly. He hugged his knees to his chest and closed his eyes. A shiver ran down his spine once the thunder passed and he attempted to cover himself with the blanket again. Atemu yanked it from his hands and threw it into some random direction.

"Used to it? The thunder?" Crimson eyes fell to the small feet in front of him and widened. "Yugi, your feet are bleeding."

"Uh…yeah." The smaller shifted positions and hugged his pillow to his chest. "You…stepped on my feet a few times while I was trying to teach you to dance."

"And you didn't _say_ anything? God, I'm wearing steel-toed boots, I wouldn't have felt them even if I _wanted_ to, you moron!" Atemu halted and watched Yugi wince at his tone. Again, he did nothing to retaliate against his taller opponent. Another thought clicked in Atemu's mind and he pressed a hand to his own face. "Why do you have to be so fucking…_nice_?"

"Wh…what do you mean?"

"I _mean_, you have no backbone. This is what it leads to when you don't stand up for yourself, Mutou! Bloody feet and me yelling at you for not being able to do _anything_ right!" Atemu ran a hand through his hair and stood up to search for the first-aid kit. A hand whipped out and clutched his sleeve.

"Don't leave," Yugi squeaked. His grip tightened and his eyebrows furrowed. "Please…don't leave me."

"…that's a start." Atemu crouched over the sofa, parallel to Yugi. Guilt tickled his chest and he stared into the scared eyes of one Yugi Mutou. Softly, he murmured, "You can't let people step all over you like that. You have to start standing up for your opinion; the passive route isn't always the right route, understood?"

Amethyst eyes flickered in surprise. He looked away, eyebrows furrowed. "I don't want to get in the way."

"Oh believe me; you're already giving me so much grie--is that why you've been staying at Jonouchi's house for the past few weeks?" Atemu pieced two and two together, eyebrow arched and mouth agape. "That is, isn't it? You think you're a burden if you stay here."

When Yugi didn't answer, Atemu continued speaking and tying all logical reasons together. Just being in the same room with him probably made Yugi's stomach churn, no matter the situation. Being in a foreign house where no one was kind to you made it even worse. Yugi could have been living this night and the night before feeling like a complete stranger and that little fact would have gone right over Atemu's head.

"Oh, Yugi…" He sighed and rolled his eyes. Was he always this much of a…a…_A dickhead? _When he turned back to Yugi, the shorter had a small smile twinkling across his face. "What?"

"Thank you."

"Uh, what?"

"Thank you," Yugi repeated. He shifted in his position and sat next to Atemu. "You're being nice to me when I know you don't have to."

"I'm full of surprises. Just like you." Without even realizing it, a smile of his own appeared across Atemu's face. _What on earth am I doing?_ Atemu blinked away the little happy bubbles and pushed himself off the couch. Yugi mimicked his actions, eyes full of fear. "I'm getting some ice for your feet."

"I…okay." Yugi slowly nodded and curled into the sofa cushion.

"I won't leave you by yourself again," Atemu grumbled. "I promise."

--

This was…nice. Yugi blinked away the last of his tears and hugged his pillow close to him. He reached for his foot and softly winced at the swelling pain. Was _that_ part really worth it? He sighed and reached for his navi to read the latest message.

_Anzu – _**Thank you soooo much for pushing me to ask him out, Yugi!**

Yeah…he still couldn't believe that he did that. Yugi smiled bitterly, eyes falling to the picture of the most perfect girl in the world. They had known each other since they were kids. Jou once took him to meet her and after a friendly game of tag where the "it" Anzu fell down and Yugi ran back to help her up, they were best friends.

She mothered him at times, but that was Anzu. That was…what he loved about her. Yugi inhaled deeply, eyes closed and sighed. Out of anyone Anzu ever wanted to date, Atemu Yamino was the last on Yugi's approval list. Yugi would have rather sold his own eyeball than be upstaged by Atemu.

But he wasn't the type of guy that Anzu wanted. _Atemu_ was. With a roll of the eyes, Yugi clutched the pillow tighter. What he planned to do was get Atemu to at least _look_ like he was interested in her stuff while out on a date with her. Of course that plan failed and left Yugi on the couch with painfully throbbing feet.

Still, Yugi thought. It was nice. Atemu had fallen out of his almighty reign, guilt overwhelming him as he tried to sedate Yugi in every way. He felt his cheeks burn at that little fact—how _embarrassing. _

He had fit into Atemu's arms so perfectly, immediately calm and secure and…_godI'!_ Yugi sat up at the vibration of his navi once again and checked the many messages.

_Jou -__**You doing okay without your Kuriboh pillow, Yug?**_

"Is _that_ where I left it?" Yugi gawked. Amethyst eyes doubled twice in size and he immediately began jabbing the keys. "_Jou_, you better not give it to the neighbor's dog as a chew toy, that's my _only one_!"

"Your only what?"

"_Gah!_" He stumbled off the couch and landed head first on the wooden floor. With a soft, dignified groan, he rolled over. A flicker followed before lights illuminated the living room. Yugi opened his eyes to the amused smirk across Atemu's lips.

"I brought the first aid kit." Atemu gestured to the white case under his arm and hoisted him back to the couch. "Stay still, understood?"

Yugi nodded, absentmindedly emailing Jou back about his Kuriboh pillow. He yelped and kicked the face in front of him as something rested on his toe.

"OW." Atemu gripped his foot tighter, scowl across his lips. "I said stay _still._"

"R-Right…sorry." Yugi relaxed in the large hands and rested his head on his pillow. Sleep flickered in his eyes; he had stayed up the entire night fearing the thunder. Eyelids slowly closing, he sucked in a deep breath. "I used to live in an apartment complex."

"Oh?"

"We lived on the top floor and there was a large glass window where we could see thunder and lightning strike." Yugi gulped, slumber sprinkling through his entire body. "Mom, me, and my stepdad. We all have different schedules, so I was normally home alone and…"

"Thunder would go off." Atemu nodded knowingly and sprayed disinfectant across Yugi's toes. The other squeaked again, but Atemu kept a firm grip over his ankle. "Must have been scary; being all alone in the apartment like that."

"Not as scary as here," Yugi admitted. He peeped one eye open and looked to the crimson-eyed teenager focused on healing his foot. "Thank you again, by the way."

"No problem." Long fingers halted for a moment and crimson orbs connected with the pink-violet across from them. "You can come home whenever you want, you know."

Home…that'd be the day. "I…don't think I ever really had a home," Yugi admitted. He shrugged and tucked his ear to his pillow.

"That doesn't mean that you shouldn't come back at all," Atemu mumbled sternly. "A house is where you rest for the day and seek safety. A _home_ is where you go when you seek love and comfort."

"Love and comfort?" The smaller softly chuckled and shook his head. "Here?"

"I'm full of surprises." Crimson eyes flickered with satisfaction at his handiwork before he sat down at the foot of the couch. They sat in quiet silence, Atemu staring at the lump next to him and Yugi breathing.

"The rain's stopped for tonight," Yugi murmured. "You could still go on that date with Anzu , if you want to."

"I know."

"Aren't you going to reschedule or something?" He felt a hand rest on his back. Yugi made a move to sit up, but was only pressed back down.

"Sleep," Atemu ordered gently. "I can have as many dates with Anzu Mazaki as I want. You, on the other hand, only have two feet."

"O…kay." Yugi smiled through the dark. "So…about that red shirt…"

Atemu chuckled. For another fifteen minutes, they began speaking about random subjects; how the Black Magician movie that was on earlier was a horrible portrayal; how silly girls could be and where on earth that silly butler of theirs had gone. Eventually, Atemu had gotten on the subject of why he wore so much leather and Yugi began to fall asleep for real; his last thoughts on the fact that Atemu wasn't wearing any shoes when he came back with the first aid kit.

--

**Author's Note: **

Mmkay, finally an update. I guess this chapter is a bit rushed, but I wanted a sudden change of atmosphere between Atemu and Yugi. Um…they're both bi? Dunno if I'll ever get to mention that, but they are, haha. They'll end up together, eventually. This chapter is just one of the many they'll share together. Thank you so much for the reviews, you guys are just too sweet!


	5. Turn the Lights Off

--

**Chapter 5: **Turn the Lights Off

--

Yugi squeaked as he literally rolled out of bed and fell to the wooden floor with a large _thud_! He fumbled to find an exit in the large black comforter. After the legendary battle occurred between Yugi, the small knight reigning from Domino and Atemu's comforter…reigning from Atemu's bed, Yugi slay the beast and rolled out of the thick sheet. He groaned loudly, head propped at his hand and rolled his eyes. His navi, though inconspicuously hidden under his various sheets, now sat beside him and told him the time: _**7:36AM. **_

"Smooth."

Pink-violet eyes peered from messy blond bangs. Pink subdued his embarrassed cheeks and Yugi smiled uncomfortably under the amusement teeming in Atemu's red eyes. He, unlike Yugi, looked pretty good despite the fact he was sleeping in boxers. At that thought, Yugi bit back an unmanly squeak as he realized that Atemu, not only in his boxers, had also slept in his room. In boxers.

What was the world coming to? While he groaned, the fact Atemu had picked him up had gone unnoticed. Instead, Yugi focused on his navi and the seventy-five emails that had come up over night. Not even having read one yet, Yugi already assumed that word had gotten out that he indeed stayed at the Yamino Residence for the past two nights.

"Did you sleep well?" Atemu asked him as he made his way to his closet.

"What? Yeah." Yugi slowly nodded, realization setting in that while Atemu slept in Yugi's room, Yugi had slept in Atemu's. As it turned out, the other teenager had gotten his room soundproofed for, according to Atemu, _'reasons.' _For the past two nights thunder raged on and pelted windows, including Yugi's, who had the largest window on the entire third floor. His housemate had taken pity on him and temporarily let him stay in said room.

Atemu's room was…unlike what Yugi suspected of the teenager. There was no excess unneeded leather (that wasn't already on Atemu, at least), but instead posters of many duel monsters. The walls were painted a dark red, bed contrasting with a black comforter and white sheets. His shelves held rare figurines that even Yugi himself did not own while books were organized right under them. Atemu held a cool and composed room rather than…gruff and heavy-metal.

Yugi looked curiously to the crimson-eyed teenager who continued to dig through his closet. "Wait."

"What?" Atemu immediately perked to the sound of Yugi's voice, which made the shorter shudder. It was weird what two days alone together in a stormy house would do; like have them get along. He suspected it was mostly because Atemu was tackled by guilt from the steel-toed boot incident.

"I've um, never seen you in jeans." Yugi slid out of the comforter and went to a drawer to the left of the room. When he retreated to Atemu's side, a pair of light blue jeans was tucked between his arms.

Atemu blinked.

"Oh, no good? I guess you don't have to wear them." A small grin teetered over Yugi's face. Why on _earth_ did he have the sudden impulse to see his housemate in a certain set of clothes? That was so…so…_creeper-y._

"You went through my things?"

"I was kinda looking for a first aid kit. Y…you said that they were in the drawer." Which had been true. Yugi had the unfortunate gift of stumbling on interesting memorabilia when he was looking for other things.

"Ah." Without a second word, Atemu pulled the pair of pants out of Yugi's grasp with a hand on his hip. "Anything else, O Great One?"

Yugi's eyes widened in surprise. "You're…seriously going to wear them."

"What?" Atemu mocked lightly. He arched an eyebrow, amusement settling across his features as his lips contorted into a half-smirk. "You're the one who kept babbling on and on about my wardrobe decisions. I'd figure by now you'd realize that I don't like it when things are half done. If you have something to say about my wardrobe, then go ahead and say it."

For a while, pink-violet eyes only stared at the crimson above him with fascination. Finally, Yugi cracked a grin and burst into a fit of giggles. "Do you ever even _wear_ jeans?"

"Only when I have to." Atemu nonchalantly shrugged.

"Okay." Yugi slowly nodded and retreated to the corners of Atemu's walk-in closet. He surfed every shirt he could, albeit annoyed when he realized the hangers were a wee too tall for him to reach. He stood to the tip of his toes in attempt to grab one of Atemu's shirts with a band name on it. For a moment, he halted and bit his lip.

Atemu's voice echoed off the walls. It was a _really_ big closet. "Something wrong?"

"N…not really…just realized that maybe I was wrong when I wanted you to wear these jeans…maybe it's best that you stick to leather." Yugi nodded, though he was wondering if he was reassuring himself or Atemu. What was he _doing_, getting so…so personal? He shook the thought off and walked back to the bemusement crossing Atemu's features.

"The Spill Canvas," Atemu said thoughtfully. His lips contorted into a frown and he shrugged. "I haven't even worn that yet."

"I think it'd clash with all your leather," Yugi joked. The t-shirt fell into the other's grasp and Yugi fumbled with his fingers. "I'm…gonna go back to my room and get ready for school."

"Wait."

As he was ordered, Yugi stopped from his journey to the door and was met by a tossed pair of jeans and t-shirt. "…huh?"

"Go ahead and wear them. You're right when you say that I don't wear anything other than leather. Doesn't mean you don't have to." Atemu watched nonchalantly as the thoughts processed through Yugi's mind. "Are you…sleeping here tonight?"

Yugi, on the other hand, was still surprised. His eyes fell curiously to the fabric. Was this really happening? "What? No. I'm um, staying over at Malik's tonight. He and I wanted to catch the premiere of the new Harry Potter movie and since they always run so late…yeah."

"Oh."

"But…" Yugi murmured steadily. He scratched his head shyly, smile tugging his lips. "I'll be here tomorrow night."

"Right."

Yugi's eyes widened. They fell to the floor, toes curling into the carpet and red rising at his cheeks. He burst through the door, the last thing visible being his smile as he went right across the hall into his own room. "KayI'llseeyoudownstairsbye!"

His room smelled liked Atemu. He hadn't actually noticed that until his mind finally returned from goo for the last five minutes before he brought the clothes close to his beating heart. What had just…happened? Yugi blinked through his bangs, hands tightening on the jeans before he plopped them on his neatly made bed.

He smiled. Atemu really left his room in perfect condition after sleeping in here. He wouldn't have even realized that the other teenager had slept there if his room didn't reek of cinnamon. …in a good way. He blinked through his astonishment, one hand resting to his cheek.

Bah, just what on earth was he thinking?!

_Knock, knock. _

"GAH! Er…oops." Yugi picked himself up from freaking out and scratched his head. Why oh, _why_ did he just wake up this morning so klutzy? He ran a hand through his ebony locks, eyes burning holes at his ceiling as he tried to sort out his thought. And…_what about that smile?_

"Yugi? You're in there, right?" There was a second knock at his door. Atemu sounded concerned.

"What? Yeah." Yugi nodded, then mentally slapped himself realizing that the other couldn't actually _see_ him nod. Really, what _was_ up with him today? With a small smile, he reappeared at the door, fingers wrapped around the knob as he realized that unlike how tidy his room was, he'd left Atemu's in a disorganized mess while tripping over just about everything. That was excluding the comforter incident, too. "Hi."

Crimson eyes gleamed with amusement. Atemu, fully clad, arched an eyebrow, one hand on the hell device that certainly didn't look like anything _he_ would own. "You forgot to take this with you."

"Oh…thanks." Yugi gratefully nodded and held it tight between his fingers. "Sorry about…the state of your room."

"No no, it's fine." He shook his head carefully and propped a hand to his hip. "And…your feet?"

"My feet? What about them?"

"Are _they_ fine?"

"Er…yeah." He'd forgotten all about his feet. Yugi looked to them and the bandages that'd been wrapped around the large welts. He'd forgotten all about them when he woke up that morning, too busy defending the city of Sleepsville from the wrath of Atemu's Comforter also known as…Atemu's Comforter. Now, he held back a wince at the sudden pain jolting up his calf. "They're pretty good."

"Right." Atemu nodded. "I'm driving you to school today."

"You're _what_?"

"Driving you to school. You don't think I'd let you walk with your feet all banged up, do you?" Atemu arched a wary eyebrow and gestured to the condition of Yugi's toes. "Alright?"

Uh… "Okay." Yugi scratched his head and looked to the floor.

"Alright. See you at breakfast." _Tingle, tingle…_ "The first aid kit for your room is--" BAM.

Had he just slammed the door? Yugi blinked, realizing the position of his arm and that yes indeed, he had just slammed the door. He fell to his bottom, commending himself for such a stupid action. He heard the heavy clacking of Atemu's boots go down the stairs before he (though, accidentally) slammed his head into the door in front of him.

What on earth was up with him?

--

There had been blood stained across Atemu's white sheets. He cursed his little fact, frustrated that the brand new sheets he bought last week were already dirtied, but that concern then turned to the fact that there was blood that morning and there _wasn't_ any blood the morning before. The end of his bed was dirtied with a small pool of red, crusty liquid and the only reasonable explanation was that Yugi's wounds had opened up over night. Of course, the shorter was always so out of it that he never actually _noticed_, but it was still something of his concern.

So he wondered why Yugi was overreacting to every little thing. Then again, he thought wryly as he processed the fact that Yugi just slammed the door in his face, one Yugi Mutou was actually more of a stumbling little kid than he'd originally thought.

For most of Saturday, Yugi had continued to sleep on the couch after their brief moment of getting along. Later that night Atemu proposed they switched rooms until the storm let up and since then, Yugi had been quiet as a mouse. Yesterday, on the other hand, Yugi was fully awake and Atemu had learned some interesting things about the other. They liked some of the same music, a lot of the same foods, and Atemu learned personally that Yugi was fucking _beast_ at Guitar Hero.

Surprisingly enough, Atemu almost lost if it hadn't been for the last hundred points he won last minute. The date with Anzu once again went by unnoticed--Atemu groaned.

His date with Anzu Mazaki, leading lady in the next musical. She was pretty, smart, and had a bit of a mischievous streak. Missing a date with her, according to the many before him, was actually worse than hell on earth, hell in the underworld, and hell in heaven. How the last one applied, he wasn't quite sure, but he also wasn't willing to find out. He ran a hand through his hair in attempt to cool his thoughts, but was desperately failing.

Anzu, from what he was told, at least, was very, very, _very_ headstrong and disliked being put down. Atemu shivered, the last thought creeping on him. How long would it be until she rang Karma's door and kicked his ass, after all? Atemu had had girls who gave him much trouble before; he just wasn't expecting _her_ to be one of them.

Then again, it was worth it. _Really_ worth it. Atemu halted, hands stuffed in his back pockets as his eyes landed on the various portraits of his father and he. Most were made in order to make his father seem like the homely type. He wryly noted the happiness dancing across his younger self's face in each picture. If it hadn't been for the fact that there were so many pictures of him and his father littering the walls, he'd forget about what that face looked like in a matter of seconds.

Mahado had been his primary caretaker for the past six years. Before that was a nanny who he regarded as his first love, but she was now strung along with his father's many business affairs--_in more ways than one._ As previously stated, Mahado had been his new "nanny", often here to keep Atemu in check. As it was, the teenager shared everything with the man he regarded as even more than his brother. That, along with the company of Marik, Seto, and Bakura, was enough to keep him sane for the past few years.

Yugi, on the other hand, was different in every way and very much refreshing. Never had he actually bonded so fondly with someone, have so many similar interests and actually almost know what the other was thinking at all times. It was…kinda scary. And nice. Yes, he decided with whole satisfaction, having Yugi's presence was _nice._

To think, they would have never even bonded if he hadn't smashed Yugi's toes into oblivion.

…_whoawhoawhoa._ Atemu's eyes doubled in size. He was cavorting with the enemy. Shit.

This…was not a good thing. Never in the history of the many boys whom Atemu targeted as annoying monkeys had he actually _cavorted_ with the enemy--literally and figuratively. That being said, Yugi still promised--or rather, offered--tango lessons if he needed something to impress Anzu with. _That_ was another problem he would later have to tackle.

"Just give me fucking death by liquor right now." He groaned, hands rubbing his temples as he realized exactly how deep of crap he was in.

"Master Atemu," sighed a light voice, "you're still underaged."

He turned to the said voice…and growled. "And where the fuck have _you_ been for the past two days?"

"For the past two days?" Mahado repeated with wry amusement. "You were the one who insisted that I left for the past two days in order to check on my little sister, Master Atemu. I was to immediately come back as soon as I heard about a storm, but for about three hours you continued to lecture me on the phone to turn on the electricity."

Ah, that was right. Atemu wanted the entire weekend free in case Anzu ended up coming back to his place for… "You didn't even pick up."

"You called, and since the satellite was down because of the storm, I didn't get your messages until _afterwards._"

"Why does it sound like you're mocking me?"

"I certainly am _not_ mocking you." An intrigued grin appeared between Mahado's ears. In one hand he held up a bag of fresh, Krispy Kreme donuts while in the other was a set of keys for Atemu's two cars. The teenager took them gratefully and stuffed his keys in his back pocket. "How is Master Yugi, Master Atemu?"

"Bwah?"

"In your messages you were cautious of what to do about Master Yugi's feet and ways to soothe his fears of thunder. Does this mean that you two reconciled?"

"How can we reconcile when we never made an agreement in the first place?" Atemu rolled his eyes. Truth be told, the only thing _before_ their little 'reconciliation' that they agreed on was a pack of tissues. He certainly wasn't willing to admit defeat by the hands of his housekeeper. Absentmindedly, Atemu shrugged and looked to his tall servant. "He slept in my room."

Mahado's smile fell. Instead, he peered over the young youth's shoulder with a frown twining his lips.

Atemu blinked. "What?"

"He slept in your room."

"Yes."

"Your soundproof room? The one where you two were home alone, doing…erm…_dancing_?"

"You know about the tango?" Atemu shrugged. "We danced around a bit. He thought I could move my hips a bit more time and was pretty damn awkward. Kid would trip over his own two feet if he had the chance." If Atemu hadn't stepped on them first, that is.

"_Master Atemu…!_"

"What? Oh, _God._ You don't think I actually_ slept_ with him, do you?" A grimace fell upon his lips, followed by a decadent hue of red that matched Mahado's. Atemu rolled his eyes and seethed. "We _talked_, Mahado. The entire time; I had to find a way to distract him from his fear of thunder and his feet. My room, as you said, is _soundproofed._ He wouldn't hear the thunder even if he wanted to."

Mahado sighed in relief. "Were you in your boxers?"

"Yeah."

"_Master Atemu!_" Once again, his butler was comically mortified.

"I don't think of him in that way. End of story." After all, Atemu still had to work out his troubles with Anzu Mazaki. Now that he remembered, she and Marik had once dated and all-in-all, _that_ was one tragedy that neither was willing to repeat. Marik still had welts, which was enough said considering that their last date was over a year ago.

Though the sudden confession had piqued the interest of one certain individual. Mahado's eyes narrowed curiously, eyebrows raised. "Yet you stayed by his side the entire time?"

"It was out of guilt." Atemu looked away and scratched his head. Surely there was something more interesting to talk about than his current troubles with one midget Mutou. "I told you that we danced. I fucking stepped on his feet and you know that I don't like going through that entire conscience shit."

"Right."

"Don't just 'right' me. I know that look you're giving me; what?"

"It's nothing," Mahado grumbled. He shrugged, smile falling to his features. "I've just…never seen you warm up so quickly to someone. When you were eleven, you stayed by Master Seto's side and forced chicken soup down his throat to soothe his cold. At twelve-and-a-half you dragged Marik to the nurse's office and demanded bandages. Freshman year, you took the blame for a cherry bomb incident for Bakura."

Atemu arched an eyebrow. "How do you know all of this?"

"I acted as your father during these times, didn't I?" His housekeeper warily sighed, hand running through his long brown hair. "At the moment I'm your legal guardian while your father is busy, Atemu. I keep a concerned eye out for you all the time."

Ah. "Mahado, have I ever told you that you're the most badass butler I've ever had?"

"On occasion. Seldom. A few times a week. Daily," he concluded with a small smile.

They both were interrupted by the light jostling downstairs. Atemu and Mahado turned their sights to the small boy holding a navi in one hand and his backpack no doubt filled with both his assignments and clothes to stay over at Jou's house. Yugi stopped abruptly in mid-step, only to accidentally trip and slide down all the stairs.

"Gah!"

"Master Yugi!"

"Watch yourself." Atemu planted a firm hand on Yugi's wrist, eyes narrowing to the small boy once he was tucked under his grasp. He cradled the shorter's body tightly and scrutinized him head-head-to-toe before snorting. "You're wearing socks. While going down my polished, wooden floor?"

"Well," Yugi coyly grinned as he pulled away from his captor, "it…seemed like a good idea at the time…" He immediately turned his attention to their housekeeper and pulled the tall man into a hug. "How's your sister doing, Mahado?"

"Well." Mahado nodded and gently patted the young teenager's back. His lips looped into a smile and he gestured to the bag of donuts crushed in Atemu's grasp. "I hope you enjoy Krispy Kreme, Master Yugi. I was afraid if I went to Dunkin' Donuts, which was on the _other side of town_, I would not get to you in time."

"Thanks, that's no problem!" Still, Yugi's eyebrows wrinkled together and he grumbled something about annoying commercials.

"And how are your feet, Master Yugi?" Their housekeeper gestured to the ten little piglets snug in Yugi's socks as a frown tickled his demeanor. "Atemu wouldn't stop panicking the entire weekend."

_WHAT?!_ "And what the fuck does _that_ mea--?!"

"Really…?"

Atemu halted, eyes landing to the fascination sparkling in amethyst orbs. He winced, gritted his teeth and tried best to look away, but failed. Two things jumbled together in his mind, ultimately turning everything into jell-o as he processed one irrationally rational thought. Yugi had the advantage of being…being _cute_ on his side.

Damp bangs either framed Yugi's delicate cheeks or dwindled as loose hedges to the side. His hair stood limp, but spiraled out of control toward the very edge while his all-out apparel was…fitting in the most unexpected way possible. One Yugi Mutou normally wore clothes that were too big for him anyway; like he chose the small out of all the stores and they were still large for his stature. Yugi would wear hoodies with sleeves dangling inches past his longest fingers or jeans that were normally fitting for a small that would cover his entire shoe and logically explain why he tripped every five seconds.

Being in Atemu's clothes was no different. Actually, scratch that. Yugi actually was…_cuter._ Fuck, he had to stop using that word. Butbut…it was _Atemu's_ clothes, and the way they sagged and dangled over his tiny shoulders were…with those big eyes…and…

"_Fuck, dammit._" Atemu clutched his head and closed his eyes shut. He seethed, irritably rubbing at the crazy nonsense possessing his mind before he felt one hand brush his away and press against his forehead. One red eye peeping open, he watched the amethyst shimmer under his as Yugi tried to keep at the tip of his toes and take his temperature.

"You don't _seem_ like you have a fever, Atemu…but I know you can get sick easily. Hm…" Yugi blinked and once again stumbled into the arms of one expectant Yamino.

"I'm fine." Atemu cracked a tiny smirk because, well, it was Yugi. He was beginning to wonder how he was _ever_ able to continue scowl in the presence of this kid. He was sickeningly cute. "Are you ready to go? Might as well eat your donuts on your way over; school starts in fifteen minutes."

"Five minute drive from your house," Yugi chimed. He hesitated for a moment before once again pulling away from the other's grasp. Hesitation fell upon his features and he looked to the ground. "Are you…sure that I can't just…you know, walk?"

"Oh, sure." Atemu narrowed his eyes, tone dripping with sarcasm. "Five minute drive, twenty damn minutes walking, smartass. Don't even go there; let's go."

"Uh, right."

Oh, yeah. He inwardly groaned as Yugi's natural instinct to recoil became noticeable. Nice thoughts, he reminded himself. Nice, nice thoughts. He pressed a hand to Yugi's shoulder and shot a glance to Mahado. "My sheets, by the way…"

"Yes?" Mahado smiled inquiringly and crossed his arms. "What about them?"

"There's some blood on them from Yugi's feet." At the mention of said toes, Atemu tightly gripped Yugi's shoulder. The other tensed under the grasp, but obediently halted. "Could you change them for me?"

"Of course, Master Atemu."

"Right. Bye." He waved the butler off and escorted Yugi in silence, lightly grumbling about the teasing look his butler was flaunting. Atemu halted finally at the door, frown directed to the quiet teenager. "Do you think that'd be a good idea? Wearing tennis shoes while your feet are still healing?"

"You had me put ice on them all of last night and the night before." Yugi shyly smiled and pulled a sneaker over his left foot. "I think you've taken pretty good care of me over the weekend, Atemu. Then again, _you_ were the one who suggested keeping first-aid kits around the house."

Atemu snorted. "And here I thought that I had given you a valid reason behind that." Which was true. Whether it'd be nine-year-old Bakura's hamster-on-a-wheel brain telling them to toboggan down two flights of stairs or twelve-year-old Marik going through a phase of pyromania following the spontaneous combustion of Atemu's pet turtle, it was just _logical_ to have some type of kit around to keep them intact.

"Did he really light a match and put it in your turtle's--"

"Yes. And that's one day I really don't think I want to repeat." Atemu arched an eyebrow of amusement, fingers gruffly pressing the unlock button on his keys before the pair sat on either side of his Challenger. "You ever have any pets?"

Yugi slowly nodded, one donut pursed against his lips. He slowly chewed on it and shrugged. "A pet cat."

"I hate cats."

"You hate many things." Yugi grinned wily and sat back in his seat. He gently sucked on a donut hole before returning to their pointless conversation. "I took really good care of her when I was five. Then…she ran away."

Uh… "Yugi, I really don't think she ran away."

"Well, where else could she have gone?"

"Um…" Damn those naïve pink-violet eyes. "Never mind."

"So…"

"So."

"I'm…sorry about your sheets. I had no idea that I would end up making a mess of them in the middle of the night." Yugi's eyes fell to the ground and he munched on another donut.

Better by blood than by something else, Atemu grumbled in his mind. He jutted to an unceremonious halt, eyes widening in realization to what he had just been thinking. He instinctively reached over with his hand to stop his smaller companion from diving head first into the headboard and once again, inwardly groaned. He was _not_ just thinking of this innocent little kid doing something like…like _that_!

"Atemu…?" Yugi's voice called hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." He gritted his teeth, crimson eyes narrowing. "Just remembered I didn't do my homework."

"For history?"

Shit. He really did forget to do his history homework. Atemu shook away his astonishment and shrugged. "No big deal." Uh, yes it was. Atemu cursed his mentality and the fact he'd been smothering Yugi all weekend. Though smothering Yugi hadn't been a _bad_ thing, but in Atemu's mind there was a brief flash of sophomore year when he and Hino-sensei's daughter had dated…and…fuck, he was screwed.

"You…wanna borrow mine really quickly?"

"Bwah?" Atemu's car came to a comfortable halt in the student parking lot. His eyes wandered to his housemate, who busied himself with rummaging through the crumpled pieces of paper before finally settling on a wrinkled wad. He smoothed out the folds and sheepishly smiled.

"S-Sorry…I get so distracted sometimes that I just stuff them in my bag. This _is_ the homework though, and…" Yugi's smile broadened proudly. "It's my best subject."

"Mine, too." Gratefully taking the paper, Atemu pulled his keys out of the ignition and observed every answer. It _looked_ legitimate enough. "Your grandfather was an archeologist, right?"

"Right." Yugi zipped his bag, one hand idly emailing through his navi. "He used to decorate the game shop with all of the artifacts that he'd find. Obviously that made him prone to burglaries, but he never cared. He always was proud of his work."

"What made him switch from archeology to gaming?" Atemu grumbled something about not having a notebook to jot the answers, and was met by a much neater slip of paper and pencil.

Yugi shrugged. "He loves little kids. I think…erm, nevermind."

"What?" Atemu arched a curious eyebrow.

"Nothing," Yugi repeated. He smiled nervously and gestured to the school. "Should we be getting inside, now?"

"Right." Finally done, the taller teenager pulled on the car door and handed back the answers. He bit his lip, the one thought that'd been gnawing at his head finally surfacing after a whole week of contemplation. "So…," he mumbled steadily, "when we get into the school…"

"I know. I don't look at you, don't talk to you, and don't even smile."

"Well, you can smile." Atemu liked Yugi's smiles. They would weave cheek-to-cheek as his eyes glimmered with an unidentifiable excitement, accented by the pink of his skin…_godwhatwashethinking?_ He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Yugi--"

"No, it's okay," the shorter cut him off. _There we go,_ Atemu thought wryly to the pink tingling Yugi's cheeks as the young boy smiled. "I'm…not really looking for extra attention anyway. I'm…good with the way things are."

Atemu's entire expression dropped into a frown. He leaned over, red eyes hovering over pink-violet as they dauntingly narrowed. "Well, I'm not."

"With what?" Yugi's demeanor flickered curiously and he stood to the tip of his toes to yet again press a hand to the taller's forehead. "Atemu?"

"I…shit, never mind." Now that he thought about it, Atemu was quite sure that if he told Yugi to stand up for himself against all his little minions, it would do more harm than good. So far the kid was able to get away with minimal scratches; the only worry would be to keep it that way.

"I have to go to my locker…oh! School starts in five minutes." Yugi flashed a worried look to his navi and twisted his feet to get inside. "I'll see you in history."

"Wait, Yugi!"

Said boy halted. "Yeah?"

"Don't…run too fast," Atemu grumbled lamely. Why was it that everything he said to Yugi sound like crap? He neatly folded the duplicate copy of Yugi's history homework and stuffed it in his pocket. "Your feet."

"Oh, right." Yugi smiled softly and ventured off. For a while, Atemu only stood there and watched the small form waddle off through the halls. For some reason he felt the odd sensation of being lonely; like no one had been there in the first place. Yugi and his getting along seemed nothing more than…a memory.

A short one, too. With a small grimace, he finally pulled away from the parking lot and into the halls with the intention of going to his own locker. The school day, to easily be said, wouldn't be very easy to endure. Yugi still had welts in his feet, and letting him go that way was…was…!

…_God,_ he was starting to sound like some doting parent. …oh, GOD, or a lov--!

"My only goal is to make sure whatever damage I've done to that kid is done," he said reassuringly. Still, that wasn't a thought that was comforting him at the moment. Atemu halted, frustrated by his conscience. "_Dammit,_ all I want to do is repay my debt, that's _all!_"

"Atemu…?"

"_WHAT?" _Oh, fuck. Atemu looked to the girl in front of him and grimaced. "Anzu."

--

This was…weird. Yugi rushed into the school building as fast as his feet would let him. Unfortunately, now that he wasn't as oblivious to the injury of his feet, rushing that fast wasn't an option. He sighed, back pressed against his locker as he tried to sort his thoughts out. It seemed a lot easier to sort out all the confusion when he was still in the shower, sitting under blazing hot water as he tried to make sense of this relationship with his new housemate.

_He smiled when he found out I'd be staying over tomorrow night._ That itself was a big change from the nonchalance Friday evening. The fact that they had to maintain their hate for each other, on the other hand, wasn't as surprising. Yugi smiled bitterly, finally pulling himself up from his locker enough to push his books inside. Jou's email nearly fifteen minutes ago crossed his mind:

_**So he a big softie or not, Yug?**_

"I…_dunno…_" Yugi was perplexed. It wasn't like him to grow so fond of a person in such a short period of time; _especially_ someone like Atemu. He shivered and pulled on his pair of pants. Obviously the clothes lent out to him weren't a very good fit, but he was too flattered Atemu actually let him wear them to process that thought.

"Hm, that's a nice shirt, Yugi."

"G-Gah!" He squirmed as his oversized literature book slammed into his feet and whirled around. "H…Hi, Mana."

"Sorry!" Mana frowned apologetically and helped him up. "So how was the weekend with my best friend?"

"O…oh…" Yugi smiled and scratched his head. "It was…okay." Which was an understatement. As organized, prim and proper as Atemu was, the other teenager had an undeniable playful streak. He loved betting, which bordered on the deadly line of a gambling problem, could solve any riddle in less than ten minutes, and was actually kind of funny. Which of course meant another interesting surprise added to the list of Things You Wouldn't Expect from Atemu Yamino.

"Ah." She smiled joyfully and rocked between her feet. "Hey, they're opening that new restaurant down the street this weekend. You wanna go?"

"Sure." The grin across Yugi's features widened and he patted his navi. "I'll tell Jou, Malik, and Ryou. I'm sure they'd get a kick out of it."

"Awesome. Dress kind of casual-formal. Well…you know, kind of casual, with a splash of fancy?" Mana hummed delicately and tapped her chin. "You wanna…borrow some of my pants again, Yugi? Those look like they'll drop at any minute."

"I've got a belt," he lightly protested. Still, he only laughed and nodded. "But that'd be fine." He shut the locker door and ushered them down the hall toward Mana's locker and his first class, talking about hide-and-go-seek. Apparently her longest record of going unfound was five hours, twenty-seven minutes and thirty-two seconds.

"Look, I had a valid reason for not seeing you this weekend."

"Valid reason, my _ass_! I've dated guys like you…guys who think…who think that they're so good that nothing else matters!"

"If you're talking about Marik, _he_ had a valid reason, too…"

Yugi frowned and lightly pulled Mana to the side. They'd gone unnoticed to the taller couple in front of them. Anzu's hands were buried at her hips, obviously frustrated while Atemu rubbed his swelling cheek. Oh yeah, he grimaced. Atemu had missed a date with her to take care of _him._

"Your friend Marik is…is a creep! Atemu, why do you hang out with those guys?" Anzu's voice filtered into concern; or at least that was what had been intended. She frowned, full concern crowning her features. "You're such an amazing guy; they're just holding you back!"

"Uh-oh," Mana whispered into Yugi's ear. "Smells like trouble."

Atemu's face hardened. "Who I hang out with has nothing to do with the girls that I date, Anzu. I'd _appreciate_ it if you left them out of our argument."

"Besides," Yugi quickly added. He ran in between the pair, one hand dragging Mana with him. He smiled meekly to the girl above him and gestured to his feet.

Anzu blinked. She smiled gently and politely waved. "Hi, Yugi."

"Erm, hi." His eyes fell to the ground, guilt bubbling in his stomach. It was his fault that Anzu was stood up by one of the guys she'd wanted to date since middle school. "Atemu is…Atemu is kind of shy."

"I'm kind of _what_?" Atemu's eyes narrowed with the hideous threat: _explain yourself._

"He can't really dance very well, and since you know, _I_ was one of your pupils, I thought it would only seem fitting if I taught him how to dance, right?" Man, what the heck was he doing?! Still, Anzu was buying into it. Yugi's entire face caught on fire and he awkwardly shifted feet. "But he wasn't wearing the right shoes and…stepped on my feet a lot, you see. He spent the entire weekend making sure I didn't overdo myself."

"Yeah," Mana conveniently chirped. She hooked an arm to Yugi's and smiled happily. "You know that the two of them are living together under business terms, right?"

"Is that…right, Atemu?" Anzu turned to her captive, eyebrows furrowed. "Are you really that…shy?"

Yugi elbowed Atemu in the rib before the taller had a chance to protest. "Ow! Right."

"How about a double date, then?" …wait, what the heck was he doing? Yugi forced another smile and shyly pulled Mana closer. "Mana and I and you and Atemu? He was going to ask you about going to the new restaurant down the street, but you know…shy little Atemu. He really likes you."

"Really?" Anzu's entire expression morphed into excitement. Ouch. Yugi felt a pang in his chest.

"Er…really." Atemu stuffed his pockets, eyes darting to his short little lookalike. "I'll…pick you up at seven, Friday night."

"Absolutely perfect!" She squealed with excitement, red enticing her cheeks as she clasped her hands together. "I'll see you guys later, then!"

"Yeah," Yugi sighed, waving her off. "Later."

--

"You…just saved my ass, you know that?" Atemu crossed his arms once his newly rescheduled date scampered off. His eyes fell to Mana, who still had an affectionate arm hooked to Yugi while the boy, normally shy, didn't care in the least. He frowned. When did _they_ become a couple?

"Just treat her like a good date and you won't have to owe me anything, okay?" Was that bitterness in Yugi's voice? The shorter turned his head, eyes very stern. Slowly, the entire expression changed into pink and he faced Mana in horror. "I just totally forgot I invited you on a date without your consent."

Mana giggled and shook her head. "Nah. Not like you and I would ever actually go on a date with each other, silly. But if you insist, pay for my meal and I'll go along with it."

"Anything for you, m'lady." Yugi sighed in relief and tugged at his pants. "And…"

"Oh, right." She nodded immediately and pulled Yugi down the hall. "Bye, Atemu!"

Atemu waved them off, muttering a quiet goodbye as he attempted to run a logical thought through his mind. No, _seriously_, he grumbled. When did _they_ become such good friends?

"Hey, you. Don't you know how to pick up a damn phone?" He was interrupted from his thoughts once someone slapped him harshly in his back. Bakura sniggered, smirk settled across his features as he looked onward.

"Hey," Atemu grumbled.

"'Sup? Saw you get out of the car with that Mutou kid, by the way." Bakura's entire expression contorted into a frown. "So what? No more bullying the poor little midget kid?"

That was enough to snap Atemu out of his thoughts. "Of course not! Why on _earth_ would I bully someone like _him_?"

"Because…you have been for the past few weeks?" Bakura mused. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and arched an eyebrow. "What, seriously Atemu? I've never seen you have such a sudden change of heart."

"It's not a change of heart! It's…he's…" Atemu sighed. Really, he hadn't been planning to do squat involving Yugi Mutou all morning. "He's just…"

God, what _was_ the right word to describe this?

"Off limits," Atemu concluded. "Yugi Mutou is off limits."

--

**Author's Note: **

Hey, guys, guess what. This chapter was supposed to be out about a week ago, except the computer was randomly hit with a virus and I never got the chance to finish it. Yippee! Bah, I do feel bad for spending more time on Pennies than this story; but I got so into the plot for that one I was worried that once I started cracking down and writing chapter for this one, it wouldn't be very good. Still, I think this is a good place to stop for now; I dunno if I'll halt one or the other to start; you'll just have to see where the updates take you.

My computer goes all buggy now and freezes on me randomly, so I'm trying to be a bit more careful with it. Still, I hope you like this chapter; it's three weeks overdo. C: Reviews would be nice!


	6. Count Me In

**--**

**Chapter 6: **Count Me In

--

"Hey."

That was the thing about one Yugi Mutou. He always showed great restraint, never once lashing from anger unless he truly had a good reason and once it happened, he was willing to stick up like a man and admit defeat. Jou grinned wholly, one leg crossed over the other once he saw the pair of soft pink-violet eyes flicker with some form of relief. Unfortunately, Yugi worked like was a double-edged sword. He'd restrain himself from not only anger, but pleasure. He learned a long time ago that his small friend, although very honest at times, had more than just a wee little shy streak. Yugi was the type of person to think about every little word his converser would enunciate before truly responding. There was always this small hesitation—subtle, yes, _very_ subtle, but at the same time so very obvious—before he spoke a word.

And if you didn't understand that about Yugi Mutou, you damn well didn't deserve being called his best friend. "'Sup, Yug?"

Again did that subtle flicker appear under the innocence of his short friend's unique eyes. Yugi grinned nervously and pulled the nearest chair to Jou's desk. "Um. I have a date."

"You have a _what_?" _That_ was certainly not the norm of his best friend. Jou fell out of his seat, eyes widening in surprise as he pulled himself together. His friend awkwardly ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in his seat.

"Okay, so it's not like a _date_ date, but Mana agreed to it and…"

Oh. _Oh!_ With a sigh of relief, Jou grinned and relaxed languidly in his desk. "Mana's adorable man, she suits you."

"Erm…l-like I said, it's not a _date_ date."

"Aw, shy and sheepish now are we?" the tall blond mischievously grinned and rested a hand to his cheek. "It's fine, it's fine, Yug. You want me to double? While you're on your 'not-a-date', Mai and I could actually go on a not-a-date and keep you company."

"Oh, no." His eyes widened in shock, as if the mere suggestion was enough to mortify him to an early grave. Yugi darkened considerably and shook his head. "It…really isn't a date. Besides…I thought you were…you know."

"I am. Well, sort of." Jou arched an eyebrow of amusement, Cheshire grin heavy upon his lips. He knew for a fact that Malik and Ryou were more assure than he was. Little Yugi, on the other hand, was still contemplating his little predicament and of course, he knew it would be best not to pry for answers.

"Um, it's already a double-date."

"Oh?" That made a bit more sense. Mana, in his opinion, brought no harm to Yugi. The worst, in fact, was that she used to be friends with Yamino. _Emphasis_ on "used-to-be." It was quite a shame, really, when that midget dipshit (and Jou really did feel he had the right to say that. Despite his royal ass and pompous attitude, Atemu was still pretty damn short. Jou bet Yamino stuffed his pants. That, or leather made more places look fat than others) dumped Mana on the curb to fend for herself.

Okay, that was an exaggeration, but Jou would have stood by it. It was already bad enough that Yugi had to stay at that place. Luckily enough, Malik and Ryou were taken by Yugi's absolutely adorable appearance. Malik was quite devoted in protecting the petite little guy and Ryou was kind, knowing full well the tortures of Atemu and his assholes, enjoying the shorter's company to the fullest.

"It's with Atemu."

"_What_?" Tell him he heard that wrong. Go on. Tell him Yugi was just joking around and…and…but Yugi didn't pull cruel jokes. Though always hesitant, Yugi also never lied. Jou fell out of his chair, realization finally settling in.

"Jou!" Large amethyst eyes blinded his view of the light…oh, the inviting light…how it seemed so good to die right there and now than believe the words waltzing from those cute little lips. Hm, Jou wondered, in his mid-hallucination, how many people thought it was silly or even kinda sorta creepy how he doted on this cute, adorable little fluffball. And…how many people thought it was weird he thought his best friend was fluffy.

Oh, look, the ground. "Bahhhdamnroyalpaininthe…" Whoops, looks like he fainted.

--

Truth be told, that went a lot smoother than Yugi would have thought. He fell to his knees, a bit guilty over his flash of relief, but it was well-placed. While in the middle of the hallway, after getting over the initial shock that he'd just asked Mana out on a date, he swept back in once he realized that the double date he would be attending would be with _Atemu._ Well, Atemu wasn't that _bad_, but the Guys didn't know that. Due to some reason or another, none of his friends liked Atemu's Gang, which Yugi couldn't blame them for. Then again, he still didn't know _why_ all of them freaked out so much when in the presence of each other, but knew it wasn't his place to find out.

Instead, Yugi tugged at the long, highly-unmanageable-but-not-as-bad-as-his blond tuffs in Jou's hair. Jou had sensitive spots in his head—no pun intended. Not many people thought Jou as the next Albert Einstein, but he wasn't stupid, either. At the thought, Yugi wryly grinned and shook his head. "Jou, wake up."

People were staring. At this, Yugi only ignored them along with the red subduing his cheeks. He yanked at the fiery blonde's hair yet again, but a little more violently. "Jou, please, it's not that bad."

No avail. There wasn't even a groan, and when the short teen poked his friend in the side, there was nothing more than an obnoxious snore. Well, that was sort of a good sign.

At the sound of the bell, all of the chattering kids dissipated, going to their respective seats as Hino-sensei's Dorothy-red heels clacked in. Yugi grimaced, watching as she halted in the middle with eyes lazing about before she sighed. From the corner of his eye, he saw Atemu waltzing in with both Bakura and Seto. They had been chattering about something meaningless before abruptly stopping.

"What?" Bakura sharply grinned and Yugi shuddered; parts of that smile actually looked like fangs. "Someone finally put the damn mutt to sleep?"

Hino-sensei snidely shushed him and sighed. She rested both hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow, but all-in-all it apparently didn't come as much of a surprise. "Care to explain?"

"Nothing ma'am," Yugi said shyly. He sheepishly stood up, attempting to bring Jou with him but greatly failed. Darn his height. "Jou just collapsed out of his seat, but he's breathing. Could I take him to the nurse's office?"

"I suppose." She smirked, obviously amused but Yugi didn't want to know why her look was so maniacal. Instead, he turned to the victim of his shocking words and frowned. He was a ninety-two pound teenager and only five feet tall. Jou was a good eight inches and forty pounds heavier than he was; how on _earth_ was this going to work out? Oh well, he sighed troublesomely as he looped Jou's arm around his neck. He would get there…eventually.

"Do you need help?" Oh, the utter humiliation. Yugi's cheeks burned as his eyes never left Jou's slumbering face. Hino-sensei's voice teemed with both amusement and pity. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but that slim student of mine generally stuffs himself with greasy foods and caffeine during lunch daily. Hauling him over to the Nurse's Office _can't_ be an easy thing to do."

No, it really wasn't. Yugi squeaked as he finally got Jou's head over his, but that unfortunate height difference of eight inches left Jou's feet dragging behind him. He groaned quietly and pressed his forehead to Jou's. This couldn't get any worse.

"I'll take him."

Yugi blinked, watching the emotion flicker among the stoic expression of Seto Kaiba's face. For a second he actually thought he saw…concern. Wow. He snapped out of it quickly as those blue eyes continued to watch him and uncomfortably smiled. "We can both go."

Seto arched an eyebrow, and this time Yugi saw irritation and confusion mixing in those icy orbs. He caught Atemu rolling his eyes behind his cousin and Bakura sniggering, but had no idea why. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm sure I'm more capable of carrying him off than you are, little Yugi."

Okay, ouch. Yugi readjusted the heavy blonde in his grip and with all his might prevented the angry scowl. "In case _you_ haven't noticed, Jou and you aren't exactly on good terms. I deserve to be with my friend—my _best friend_, mind you—while he's unconscious."

There were murmurs, passing of _Burn!_'s and sniggers. On the other hand, the small teenager immediately recoiled. _Did I just say that out loud?_ He shivered, watching those cold eyes study his form once again and instinctively looked over to Atemu for support. Wait—why instinctively? They weren't supposed to talk to each other during school. The burn of Yugi's blush simmered in his cheeks and he curled his fingernails into his palms.

"Alright," Seto grumbled after a lapse of silence. "Let's go."

Before they could get into an argument, both exchanged looks with a very amused teacher before walking out of the room. Seto grabbed Jou's form before Yugi had a chance to protest and they began walking through the halls of Puzzle High. Yugi kept the fervent blush from escalating above his neck. This little reliance on Atemu was going to have to stop; they were getting a bit too…close.

Which didn't help when he realized Atemu actually was staring back. Mortified, he brushed a bang out of his eye and turned his sight to the protégé business-teenager. And…was totally thrown off guard. He watched in complete interest as the once icy teenager shed of his apathy and observed the rash blonde tossed over his back. Concern. He'd known before that Jou had a distinct hate for Seto Kaiba and to some degree that was returned, but now that he thought about it, Seto never…abruptly argued back. Quite the opposite, infact.

Yugi blinked, words coming to mind again and then he decided: yeah; all of Jou's snarky remarks were one-sided and the most Seto would give were one-word rebottles, which he assumed was the typical underdog-to-superiority relationship. Seto was the curt master and Jou was the not-yet-housebroken aggressive golden retriever who refused to listen to anyone. Now he understood that the relationship between the two derived from something deeper and certainly, something in their past had caused this iffy relationship.

"Seto."

"What?"

Pink-violet eyes recoiled with a wince. He shivered, not realizing that he voiced his curiosity. "Never mind."

"No, what?" There was a type of harshness to his tone and Yugi felt himself fall flat. Then again he shouldn't have been so surprised. After all, Seto and Atemu were cousins and obviously had the same type of cruelness. His mind drifted back to before, a few nights ago when Seto and he had a rather…awkward conversation going involving the chaining of the game shop. They never got to it, instead busied by their own things, but Yugi was still frustrated. Now, Yugi scolded himself for being so shy and reluctant; this wasn't the time for his stumble of self assurance.

"You and Atemu are a lot alike." …what the heck. Didn't he just establish that like, thirty seconds ago? Yugi mentally slapped himself.

"In case you haven't noticed, we _are_ cousins." Of course they were. Otherwise that cynical tone wouldn't have existed.

Yugi shrugged nonchalantly, deciding best to push away those thoughts and tucked his hands in his newly-belted pants. "It's just…I don't know. You surprise me; I certainly would have thought that you wouldn't care for Jou's wellbeing. Especially with bullying me and all." You brush him off so easily after he challenges you, was what he really wanted to say.

Still, it seemed as though his message got across. For a minute the pair halted and Yugi watched the expression contort over Seto's face. "There's a lot riding on this than you think."

"Oh?" Yugi really was curious. He shifted between his feet, matching ruddy old Converse squeaking in torture. "I…know you think I look like I can't stand up for myself—" Damn, did he _know_ "—and Malik and the others are completely set on protecting me from you guys, but…why? Their hatred for you guys doesn't seem…normal."

Something came over the tall teenager's expression. He smirked loosely, eyes settled to Jou and shook his head. "By all means, Yugi, their hatred for us is very much 'normal.'"

"Explain it to me?" Yugi blushed lightly as he realized the assertiveness in his tone. "Please?"

"Alright, I'll bite." Seto arched a wary eyebrow. "Atemu and I are cousins and our respective fathers are twins. Naturally to some extent, they do get along and he and I have known each other since we were toddlers. Bakura and Marik were best friends of their own and after some pranks that got all of us in trouble, we decided best to stick together."

"Ah." He had wondered why their relationship with each other was so wired. "So why does that make Atemu um…"

"King? Who knows, that cousin of mine always had a broad sense of leadership and considering we always got out of trouble all in one piece, he just naturally became the leader." Seto laughed gently and wearily shook his head. "Marik and Bakura are…an interesting pair. They enjoy outdoing each other, finding a better way to shove something up the other's ass, that kind of stuff. They aren't exactly what I would call the sanest of best friends."

"Does that mean you and Atemu are normally the ones who had to bail them out?" Yugi was smiling, but he doubt Seto Kaiba would notice. His thoughts drifted back to the antics his housemate had told him. Sticking a hamster in a microwave…shoving a match in a turtle's shell…it was hard to believe someone as hot-tempered as Atemu Yamino had both the tolerance-level and patience to deal with the pair.

"Bail is such an…appropriate word." The brunet held back a smirk, arm wrapped securely around Jou as they continued down the halls. "Anything else?"

"You never answered my first question." Yugi tilted his head curiously. "Why do your friends and my friends not…tolerate each other?"

Coldness struck Seto's demeanor. He looked to Yugi, face stoic and blank before shaking his head and closing his eyes. "Lots of things. Do understand, Yugi, that our bullying you isn't something new. We've done it over and over, some harsher than the last. Ishtar, Inoue, and Jonouchi are simply those who have treaded on our territory and left with scars."

Yugi frowned. "But they aren't scared of you."

The way Seto was smiling scared Yugi a bit. The teenager who generally held such a stoic demeanor and apathetic outlook on life now looked grim; tortured. "Are _you_ scared?"

"No." Why would he be? He'd been through so much of the same crap over and over to know what to expect next. Compared to his other schools, all of their petty pranks really meant nothing. Yugi smiled nervously, hoping that the other wouldn't see through his façade. "But it's hard to be afraid of a few little pranks."

"As…I told you, Yugi," Seto quietly murmured as they made it to the infirmary. He quickly explained Jou's situation to the nurse and went to the back, Yugi hot on his trail, to set the unconscious teenager on a cot. "Many of our pranks may get out of hand if they aren't handled well."

Ah. Yugi blinked, once again watching concern flourish through intense blue eyes. He scratched his arm, awkwardly taking in the sight and the silent messages conveying from Seto's part. It was like he was the third wheel in a relationship but…Jou and Seto weren't in a relationship. He smiled softly, head leaning against the doorframe as he watched his best friend's lips loop into something that was almost a smile. "You know what, Seto?"

"Mm?" Seto answered, but was barely listening.

"I meant what I said earlier." Pink-violet eyes glimmered with satisfaction as he unnoticeably slipped through the door with navi in hand. "You're a lot nicer than people give you credit for."

--

He was frowning. And he had every right to, goddammit. Dark red eyes glittered with dissatisfaction and he ran his ADHD kleptomaniac of a best friend's message through his head once again. Which…wasn't necessary because really, that very message was sitting right in front of him on the navigator. And he didn't like the message, so he scowled.

_**Bet the Royal Ass got some fucking in over the weekend, huh? LITERALLY. HA. **_

GODDAMMIT. Atemu growled angrily, knowing that he couldn't turn around and just chunk the expensive device at Bakura's head. It wouldn't have worked, anyway; his friend had a rather hard head and a helmet of hair made with shock-absorbency. _Just_ because Yugi actually stayed over the weekend did _not_ mean they did it. _Just_ because Atemu was servant to Yugi's every whim did _not_ mean he was whipped. He crushed that midget's feet, dammit! That's why everything was happening!

_Well, the legal height to be declared a midget is 4'8". Yugi is 5'0", so he technically isn't a midget. Waitwaitwait._ Fuckfuckfuck.

His nails curled into the palm of his hands and once again, Atemu was sneering at this horrible abomination. It wasn't like Yugi and he were ever in a compromising position during the weekend! …except…the one…two….five….nine times he was in his boxers and carrying a conversation with Yugi. Or the three…six…eight times he insisted on carrying Yugi up the stairs because of his feet injury. Well, he drew the line at wet dreams. There were no wet dreams of Yugi Mutou.

Except…according to his science teacher when they studied psychology and dreams last year, every night everyone had dreams at least two to three times and it's likely to forget them, so…it was possible he was dreaming of that shrimp without even realizing it.

Oh fuck.

He was having forgotten wet dreams about Yugi Mutou. Mahado was right—wait no, Mahado was the source of all his problems. He growled, running Bakura's message through his head once again and looked to the door. Mahado had filled his mind with unusual thoughts. He only bonded with Yugi so that they could have his feet heal properly. Obviously. He didn't want Yugi filing some lawsuit against him and his dangerous steel-toed boots. Obviously. He hadn't offered Yugi a ride to school this morning because he _cared_, it was because he was obligated to.

Obviously.

The moment the door slid open again, Atemu perked, watching as Yugi popped right back in, sheepish smile across his face. Seto was nowhere to be seen and Atemu snorted. His cousin was beyond whipped for one Katsuya Jonouchi; it came as no surprise that he would be the first to crack. Wait. He was the one to crack. Atemu bit back his frustrated groan as Yugi explained Jou's situation to Hino-sensei and quickly messaged his cousin. When he didn't get a reply right away, he knew that meant that Seto had his hands full.

Atemu peeked from under his arms, eyes resting on the brat and his newfound friend. He had declared just a few short minutes ago in the hall to Bakura that Yugi was indeed off-limits, but he had absolutely no idea what he meant. It seemed like a good idea at the time, declaring that no one could touch Yugi, and he was sure that was the meaning behind it. Sort of…when he spoke the words, they seemed like they meant so much more. He just didn't know how. Was he _only_ off-limits to bullying? He shoved the thought aside, instead returning to the book in front of him, but never had the chance.

Once Yugi was done explaining to Hino-sensei, he walked up the aisle, abruptly halting at the intersection between his desk and Atemu's. Atemu glanced over, eyebrow raised in curiosity and was met with an innocent smile. Pink-violet eyes teemed with curiosity and he shook his head, like saying, "Never mind."

He sat down promptly in his seat and focused on the lesson. In return, Atemu forced his eyes on the book, refusing to watch the languidness shimmering in amethyst orbs. He bit his lip, softly tapping at the screen of his navi, waiting impatiently for a certain cousin's reply, but he really wasn't going to get it.

Hino-sensei was going over the history in Greece; something he had already read ahead for at the beginning of the school year. He silently cursed his fact, running a hand through his hair. Having a conversation with Marik seemed optional, but that psychotic moron was _also _shoving this "fucking" in his face. He automatically ruled Bakura out and if Seto wasn't going to reply, then he knew carrying on a conversation with a distracted Kaiba was unlikely.

Dammit, no one to talk to.

Well…he snuck a glance to Yugi, who occupied himself with jotting notes and occasionally glancing at something in his navi. Sneakily, Atemu casually yawned, stretching to hear the healthy snap of his back before stealing a glimpse of what Yugi was doing. Online dueling. That was right; Yugi had been in as many tournaments as he, but Atemu stopped playing childish games when he was thirteen. Dueling with trading cards, for example, was a game that he loved as a kid, but he lost interest in it entirely through freshman year.

Shame, too. He was the Millennia Champion five years running. Then again, once he stopped dueling, Atemu was no longer the outlet for his cousin's frustration. Who…really needed to message him like, now.

He briefly growled, involuntarily looking over to Yugi again. In a way, that kid was just a big little kid. Or a…little big kid. Either way, Yugi was childish and now, Atemu smirked victoriously, he knew Yugi was indeed a troublemaker.

His fingers grazed the 'New Message' button and before he had any common sense over what he was doing, he typed meticulously: _**I saw that.**_

Then he frowned. He didn't want to _scare_ Yugi, just…create conversation. But all considered, Atemu had no doubt in his mind that he was _not_ Yugi's favorite person. And with his obviously _not_ short temper (_OBVIOUSLY)_, it might have sounded like a slip-up and he could end up frightening one Mutou kid.

Then what on _earth_ was he supposed to say? Oh! _**Nice weather today, huh?**_ Fuck that shit. It only made him sound _desperate._ Atemu griped against his stupidity and deleted the message yet again. Well, he and Yugi were technically sharing a house… _**What do you want for dinner?**_ Send.

Waitwaitwait. Fuck, too late. Atemu grimaced at his idiocy, glancing to the short teenager. That shrimp was going out with Ishtar tonight! Why did he have to be so dumb and forget? Yugi slightly jumped at his vibrating navi, desperately looking around to see if someone had caught him before hesitantly fiddling with the buttons. Dammit, Yugi was a goody two-shoes. It wasn't likely that he received text messages often in school.

_Yugi – __**I'm going out with Marik tonight, remember? I'll be staying over at his house.**_

Atemu rubbed a lock of gold hair between his fingers, reading the message forwards and backwards with another glance over to Yugi. The boy smiled passively before returning to what he assumed was online dueling._**Of course I know. What do you want to eat **__**tomorrow**_?

The shorter analyzed the message achingly slow that Atemu felt his head throbbing in anticipation. Did Yugi _have_ to make Atemu sit here an entire minute before replying? Finally, Yugi tapped his fingers against the touch screen and another message appeared in front of Atemu's screen.

_Yugi – __**I like hamburgers. **_

Atemu was a vegetarian. Well, he was close to being one, anyway. After both Bakura and Marik insisted on destroying half his pets and therefore obliterate his childhood sense of responsibility, love, and compassion, he swore off eating meat without actually going public with his preference. Both morons were lucky they hadn't been brought to court for animal abuse yet. No, really.

But if Yugi liked hamburgers…._**Alright. Buy a bib tomorrow**__…_.he supposed he could deal with it.

Especially if Yugi was going to smile at him like that.

After that, no other words were spoken, but Atemu would have ripped his navi in two if Bakura hadn't stopped him. The last words on the screen were going to haunt him for the rest of the school day.

_Bakura – __**You do know when I asked if you shagged someone I meant Mazaki, right? **_

**--**

"If you really insist on paying for my ticket this time, then I'm going to buy them for the both of us next time," Yugi said sternly. He smiled to his 'date', Malik, who only grinned as the vendor gave them both passes. The new Harry Potter movie was supposed to be a good one, or at least that was a lot of people said. Yugi was a bit disappointed that he was the last in the Harry Potter Fanclub—Domino Division—to see the film. When explaining his situation to Malik, the other happily obliged and here they were, going to see it.

Occasionally he would be getting little devil messages from Jou, who was still throwing a fit over the fact he was left alone in the room with Seto Kaiba for a whole "fortyersummin'minutes" while unconscious. Fortunately for Yugi, one apologetic look with those pink-violet eyes caused Jou to recoil and loudly declare his own apology for yelling at Yugi.

Malik called Jou an idiot. Ryou secretly obliged, but knew if he said something about it, the teenager he unfortunately shared an apartment with would be bitching all night long.

Yugi laughed again, reading over Jou's last message, but decided to let him rant. After all, he thought with a sparkling grin, if he actually told Jou that Seto Kaiba _carried_ him and was watching him during those forty-two minutes (a math that Yugi was surprised his best friend could even calculate), there would be more bitching. Besides, it was actually kind of cute.

"You're zoning out again," Malik said beside him in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, am I?" Yugi blinked through his thoughts and looked to his tall friend with a passive smile. "I'm sorry."

"You better not be thinking about Yamino." Malik's tone was raised just a bit high, gently stern, but not entirely. His light purple eyes flickered with suspicion, but Yugi knew it was with good intentions. "Your date is with _me_ tonight, not _him._"

"My date with him isn't even a date with him. I'm going a date with him and two other girls! …Wait, I mean…" Yugi softly groaned, a soft laugh following his mistake. Malik and Ryou had taken the news a bit better than Jou, but not by much. At least they didn't faint; but he knew well enough that all three had it in them to spy on him. If they did, he wouldn't have been very surprised. "You know what I mean. My date is with _Mana._ I'm um. His wingman. Yeah, that's it."

"Doesn't it hurt just a little bit?" The other's face softened considerably as they moved through the line of excited Harry Potter fans. "You liked Anzu first, didn't you?"

Heat radiated through Yugi's cheeks. He awkwardly scratched his head, darting away in an attempt to avoid the question, but… "Did I make it that obvious?"

"Sometimes you're so easy we can read you like a book, Yugi." This time Malik was amused. He wily grinned, one hand settled to Yugi's shoulder and he shrugged. "But she's not the right girl for you. Trust me; she can be a handful."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. When I was seven at the city pool, she stole my Popsicle and pushed me in the deep end." He ran a hand through his hair, slowly blinking before nestling both hands to his hips. "Then again I probably shouldn't have said that she was the one who peed in the kiddy pool."

"No, of course you made the right decision." Yugi crossed his arms sarcastically and shook his head. "Atemu's a nice guy if you get to know him…and I don't want him fooling around with Anzu. If he does anything to hurt her…well, then he isn't worth her time and I'll just move out on the streets if I have to."

"Good. You can move in with my sister and me." Malik nodded in approval and he mischievously grinned. "So if I sabotaged that date without you knowing it, would that mean you _would_ move out of Atemu's house?"

Yugi arched a wary eyebrow and crossed his arms with an amused smile. "Don't even think about it. I told you that I can handle myself and I came out fine, didn't I?"

"Yugi."

"Yes?"

"You seem to be forgetting the fact that idiot rammed his steel-toed boots into your bare feet."

"That's beside the point."

"No, no. I think that's above, on, and right in it." Malik patted Yugi like a child and rubbed his own chin with the other. "Though I suppose it doesn't matter much. Ever since you came here you've either stayed over at my house or Jou's. It's fun having you around, you know."

Um... "About that…"

"_Yugi_," gaped the lavender-eyed teen. His eyes widened in utter surprise, blond eyebrows fervently stretched up and mouth gawking like an ostrich. Not that Yugi knew of an ostrich who knew how to gawk, anyway. "No! _No_! Seriously?"

"Sort of." Yugi shrugged, smile tugging at his lips as he shamefully looked to the ground. "It was _bound_ to happen sooner or later, Marik! I…I have to get along with him if I'm going to be staying over his house to speak business deals with his cousin! We'll be together for the rest of the year! Maybe even _two_ years!"

"But _Yugi_," whined Malik. He tucked his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt, childish annoyance apparent in his tone. He pouted kind of cutely despite his normally level-headed demeanor, but Yugi wasn't sure it was a bright idea to call the fuming Ishtar 'adorable.'

"I'm gonna get some popcorn," muttered Yugi. He ducked from the torturous gaze and scurried toward the lobby. If he had known his friends were going to make a big deal about his hanging around Atemu, then he wouldn't have done it. Then again, at the time of making the date, his friends' reactions totally slipped his mind.

His cheeks burned and he hated it.

God, he was still figuring out the mechanics of his mind and dwindling testosterone/rising estrogen levels. Atemu Yamino was going to give him an effing conniption if he didn't watch himself. With a small groan, he pushed forward in his thoughts and went to the back of the line to get popcorn. Still…it was nice, he held a small smile. Despite the fact they both declared Yugi would have nothing to do with Atemu inside of school, he was surprised when the other was the first one to make a move.

Now he was gonna be eating hamburgers. Yum. Yugi unconsciously licked his lips, hands tucked in the pockets of his pants. _Atemu's_ pants. Again, his cheeks were simmering at this one realization and he slapped it away. That was right, he reminded himself. It was bordering over creepy on how well he was adjusting to his surroundings. Being here more than a month now, it actually…sorta kinda felt like a home.

To quote Atemu, a house was where you rest for the day and seek safety. A _home_ was where you went when you wanted love and comfort.

He smiled softly, unconsciously picking up one of his ankles to stretch. He liked that quote. Who knew; give it a few more weeks or a few more months and he certainly wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life in Millennia instead of bouncing around from his mother's, father's, and brother's houses.

Out of all of the places he lived, staying in Millennia was probably his favorite. His grandfather was always nice to him the summers or breaks he was able to spend in Millennia and he sort of knew Millennia like the back of his hand. Not entirely, but enough. Atemu was a new case; it surprised him that day when they first met. Yugi had a small talent for politics he didn't plan on indulging and he knew he didn't like Mayor Yamino. He frowned gruesomely, shoving both hands in his pockets. Mayor Yamino was more tight-lipped than Seto, and that was saying something. He'd met the mayor once and soon after knew he never wanted anything to do with the mayor ever again.

Yet ironically he was staying at the Yamino Residence. With his son. A very hot, leather-clad son. Yugi shook his head, completely blanking on the thoughts as he got to the front of the line. "One medium popcorn and a coke, please."

After paying for his meal, he scampered off in attempt to find his friend, but came to a halt. Eyes widening, he saw Malik standing in front of someone who sorta looked like him. A friend of Atemu's, no doubt… Marik, was it? Yugi's entire demeanor fell uncomfortably and he made a move to step forward, but the smile that suddenly laced Malik's lips stopped him.

Surprised, he thought it best to leave them alone, and saw the smirk on Marik's face loosen just a tiny bit. Malik shoved him, but not enough to be considered aggressive. A Cheshire grin spread across Marik's face evilly and he leaned over, whispering something into the smaller teen's ear. Rage subdued Malik's face, slowly relaxing into something else. Depression; desire with bronze ears singed pink.

Yugi bit his lip, watching as Malik tensed and the pain crossing Malik's face before he shoved Marik for good, bringing him out of the line of anxious Harry Potter fans and toward Yugi.

Marik briefly stopped, eyes connecting with Yugi long enough for Yugi to feel very, very disturbed. Once he left, the shorter gathered all his courage and came up to Malik, pretending like nothing happened. How coincidental, Yugi thought sadly, as Malik feigned the same enthusiasm.

"Hey, took you long enough." Malik's smirk didn't waver, and if Yugi had been stupid, he would have thought nothing really had gone on. "Ready to see the badassery of Harry Potter?"

He forced a smile of his own and nodded. "Of course."

--

Atemu gritted his teeth and slapped himself. Really, what was going on in his head nowadays? He knew Yugi after only a week and now he was buying…ugh. Hamburger meat. Grotesque meat that was kinda stinky, too. It wasn't the fact that he bought the main ingredients for making some manwiches. He bought a year supply of it without even thinking; casually pulling out his father's Visa and pushing the pin numbers.

Fuck, Mahado was gonna _maim_ him. Now here he stood, freezer packed with various types of meat that Atemu doubted would last even a month without going bad and he had absolutely no idea what to do with it.

What _was_ hamburger meat, anyway? Wasn't it just beef? Or was it pork? Did they taste as bad as veggie burgers? He crossed his arms, still scrutinizing the goat meat sticking out of the shelf and shivered. Goat meat, goat milk. Cow meat, cow milk. He vaguely remembered arguing with the clerk that if they had both varieties, why didn't they have pork milk?

The sound of the door slamming one floor down caught his attention. Atemu arched an eyebrow. Mahado was off-duty after nine; what was he doing up?

"I'm home!" Was that Yugi?

He bit the inside of his mouth, slowly contemplating what to do before "casually" plopping on the couch and flipping through the channels on TV. Soft, stumbling steps echoed up the stairs and Atemu "casually" looked up.

Yugi's bright face shined even more in his presence. Pink-violet eyes shimmered kindly at his form and smiled. "Hi."

"Hey." Atemu arched an eyebrow and resisted the urge to wave. "Weren't you going to sleep at Ishtar's house?"

"Change in plans. Um, can I sit down?"

"Go for it."

With a soft plop, the shorter was sitting next to Atemu and casually slipping off his Converse. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Does popcorn count?"

"Of course not. Go over there and fix yourself something to eat," Atemu said as he pretended to watch TV.

Yugi softly nodded and once he was again off the couch, crimson-eyes cautiously followed him. They landed to the two small feet all women would be jealous of and he smiled to himself once concluding there was no blood.

"How are your feet?"

"My feet?" Yugi turned around, smile stretching across his lips as his hand clasped the refrigerator door. He tapped his feet to the wooden floor in attempt to show how okay they were and nodded. "They're perfectly fine. Why?"

"Just curious." Atemu hid his grin as he turned back to the TV. "And the movie?"

"Amazingly awesome."

"Good." A comfortable silence enveloped them for a minute while he finally settled on watching a documentary about Ancient Egypt. He silently wondered why Yugi had come home right after the movie, but figured that his short friend was too exhausted. Then he frowned. Did he just call Yugi his friend?

Well…he hoped they were friends. Atemu blinked, running the word through his head again. They weren't two strangers living in the same house now, but was 'friend' the right word? Kinda…sorta. They weren't just…acquaintances. Acquaintances barely knew anything about each other and certainly didn't sleep in each other's rooms. That's what the guest room was for, and he was almost able to relax around Yugi the same way he was around his other friends.

…Yeah. They were friends. His ears bloomed pink at the thought, but he hadn't the slightest idea why. Instead, he leaned his head back, taking a soft glance to Yugi who, he proudly noted, was still wearing his clothes.

Suddenly, Yugi blinked. "Atemu?"

"Mm?"

"Why is there pig milk in the fridge?"

--

"Fuck, Yugi, if you don't hurry your ass _right now_, I'm going to leave _without you_!"

"Alright, alright!" Yugi irritably called down the stairs. He fumbled with the buckle of his choker, something he hadn't worn since the last time he was at his brother's house. The week had passed by fast and it was the first time Yugi actually stayed at the Yamino House for a full week. Now, it was Friday, also dubbed _Date Day._ He gave a reluctant Atemu dance lessons and _hopefully_ Anzu's date remembered enough lessons to…well, only step on her feet twice. Atemu couldn't dance, and girls must have found that cute about him if he went out as much as everyone said he did.

Finally grinning in the mirror, Yugi stepped back and smoothed out his bangs. In his and Mana's case, it wasn't a _date_ date, but it was fun to treat it like one. From what he heard, Mana was actually going to fix her hair for their 'date' and if his friend wanted to enjoy herself, then he was going to go all out, like that one girl he dated in New Domino.

Rebecca Something.

No, her last name wasn't Something, but it was _something._ He shrugged the thought away and stepped out of the bathroom with a small smile before slipping on a pair of his _good_ Converse. As he slowly glided down the stairs, Atemu was once again yelling.

"If you don't get down here, I'll beat you until you…"

"Until I what?" Yugi landed with a soft plop and smiled sincerely at his taller friend. Atemu had actually taken his wardrobe advice for once, wearing a red shirt along with those leather pants that…really brought his eyes out. Stop staring, Yugi suddenly told himself.

Atemu blinked, eyes scrutinizing Yugi back and forth, left to right. "You…dressed up."

"Only a little." Which had been true. His short-sleeved white shirt was blocked by his purple American Eagle jacket, which fit perfectly compared to his other jackets. Black jeans clung to his legs and were complimented by his black converse. The choker around Yugi's neck was an out-of-place touch, but he always thought it was lucky. Hm, he suddenly thought. Lucky choker. That was…special. "What?" he said when he realized Atemu was still speechless. "I told you I've dated before; we're going out dancing, do you really expect me to dress up in some ruddy old jeans and pop a Pokemon shirt on?"

Um. Apparently he did. Atemu scratched his head and looked away to hide his embarrassment. "Let's…get going."

--

**Author's Note: **

Hey guys, guess what! I'm on spring break now! (smilesmile) The only problem with that is...well, my computer is also gone from me. It's at the shop and I won't get it back until Thursday or Friday, but I'll _try_ to update as much as I can with the desktop. This thing is...big. And the width of the screen affects my writing. Boo. But, I'm happy you guys like it so far and I hope to get at least two more updates of this in before break is over. Enjoy the chapter; we're now past the awkward settling and gliding towards comfortable fluff soon enough. **  
**


	7. Let's Play a Love Game

--

**Chapter 7: **Let's Play a Love Game

--

"That is _so_ not fair!"

"No, no. I believe in all that is Duel Monsters—that was totally fair."

"But you keep_ touching_ me!"

"It's your fault for choosing that as your weak spot!"

"_Yugi_! If you don't stop, I'm gonna…I'm gonna…"

"Go ahead and do it!"

Atemu was just about ready to slam his head into the wheel. He inwardly groaned, ducking under the visor as he caught glimpse of the two highschoolers (and he used that term _very loosely_) nestled in the backseat fiddling with their navis with what he assumed was some MMPORG game from all of the occasional sound effects and bloody cackles he would hear. His eyes landed to Mana. _She looks nice_, he thought. Which was no lie.

Despite the fact Yugi constantly claimed that he and Mana were nothing but friends, they both complimented each other. For a quick second, Yugi looked up and ran a hand through her hair, quickly readjusting the purple bow pinning most of her wild tresses back. In return, she giggled and used a hand to tickle his rib. With a small yelp, Yugi was hugging himself and pouting.

_Note to self: the brat __does__have some good advice. _Atemu resisted the demonizing urge to smile and returned all attention to the road. Despite the fact how loud and obnoxious either one sounded tonight, it was nice to see how enthusiastic Yugi could be; so playful and so…_sincere._ Knowing Mana for most of his life, Atemu knew for a fact that this was how Hudson acted, too.

"_I_ think they're an absolutely _adorable_ couple!"

And then there was the reason why Atemu had been cringing for most of the night. He slowly looked away and to the brunette who actually looked _overdressed_ tonight. Compared to Mana's light dress, Cheshire flats and a light Egyptian touch to her makeup, Anzu had gone all out. She had a pair of short-shorts that were smaller than any of his belts and a top that made her boobs look like ticking time bombs.

To that, Atemu only shivered, remembering Marik; the one who Anzu dated for nearly a month all out of his chest fetish (he was just _fascinated _by nipples.) His eyes fell onto that…that _monster_ of a chest. He thought most dancers were at most, Bs since it was difficult to prance around with a large chest. _Apparently not._ Her heels were longer and slimmer than any of Atemu's fingers—yeah, he got it; he was _short_—and he'd seen less makeup caked on a transvestite. What'd she do; cover her entire face's blemishes and then put ten other coats on to cover the makeup?

"I don't think so," Atemu mumbled as his eyes once again wandered to the back where Yugi and Mana continued (comically) screeching curses at one another when one lost. There wasn't any true blushing or pure affection when it came to their actions. Sure, they were cute together, but they were far from being two horny bunnies.

Anzu giggled, lightly pressing a cold hand to his. "I dunno, Atemu. I think Yugi used this date as an excuse to be with someone he really liked."

At this sudden thought, Yugi looked up from his navi, eyes widening as he tensed. Fervent pink swelled in his cheeks before quickly being shrouded by his navi. Yeah, Atemu sharply noted as he looked between his oblivious date and flustered housemate. That was _exactly_ it. The ways Yugi acted around Mana and Anzu were completely different and obviously, what he felt for one girl was not the same as the other.

Yugi had good taste. Fuck, Yugi _had_ to have good taste! They had only been in the car for five minutes and Atemu saw enough third base to know Anzu Mazaki liked frilly pink underwear patterned with Winnie the Pooh. Which…which was definitely not a thong. Atemu tensed as he felt the hand suddenly move from his spare and straight to his thigh.

"They are _so cute_!" she whispered with excitement.

Looking to the back Atemu was willing to admit the scene was indeed…_cute_, but it didn't mean anything at all. Nope. The fact Mana was so enthusiastically sprawled over Yugi's lap, two little hills pressed against his leg with an arm stretched in order to reach Yugi's navi and his hand occasionally grazed her rump roast totally meant nothing. Nope. Not at all.

Atemu apathetically shrugged, trying best to keep on the road. It would be another ten minute drive before they got to the restaurant. "Children," he called wryly once the car literally began shaking because neither would leave well enough alone, "I _will_ turn this car around if you do not behave."

"Yes father."

"Don't call me father."

"Yes sir."

"Don't call me sir."

"You're turning the wrong way."

"Fuck," Atemu seethed as he once again lay eyes on the rear view mirror. "No backseat driving either, Mana."

"Okiedokey ardachokie." The little devil girl with green eyes shimmered happily in the back seat and fiddled once again with her navi. The pair went back to their gaming, this time with the sound switched off and surprisingly, it was just one simple talk to tame the beasts known as, who Atemu would like to call, the Game Puppies. They were pups, Atemu was the shepherd and Anzu was…was…

_The fucking Amazon lady with gargantuan boobs larger than all of the women I know combined._ He wearily snorted, already wishing that this date was over before it started. Slowly, his eyes drifted back to the cute form known as Yugi Mutou in the back seat and, again, he was resisting a smile. The quaint grin spread across the other's face was enough to make his insides tingle. The white shirt fit Yugi's entire form perfectly. HIs hoodie was the exact measurements and those legs…better than Mazaki's jiggly thighs any day.

Yugi…looked like a teenager. Had it not been for the choker clasped so out of place on his neck, he would have lost the entire cute factor and…slip…straight…into…_kinda damn hot and adorable._ Atemu blinked the sparkly hearts out of his eyes and directed all attention to the road. At the sudden vibrating to his thigh, he fished for his navi and quickly looked at the message.

_Yugi – __**Eyes on the road, silly.**_

Taking a look at the rear view _yet again_, Atemu caught sight of the amused grin strewn across petite lips before Yugi delve back into the game and him in his thoughts. Throughout the week despite the first claim of saying they would stay away from each other, Yugi and he were actually becoming…real friends. No, they hadn't exactly strutted up and down the halls together slapping each other on the butts and calling the other a douchebag, but the messaging hadn't stopped.

It would take him less than ten seconds to read an entire message from the boy before fiddling with a reply which, normally took thirty, until he eagerly pressed the send button and awaited Yugi's message forty seconds later. Delicate jokes and clever words, they were still oddballs with Atemu resisting the ongoing urge to hyperventilate when he had to think twice and wonder if he said something offensive if it took Yugi too long to answer, or the other pouting if Atemu was preoccupied with talking to Seto to notice the new message.

"What'cha readin'?" Anzu hummed, all sing-songy. Atemu grimaced, shifting from his seat enough to duck out of her grasp. She was _polite _and _friendly_, Atemu was willing to admit, but one week hanging around Yugi also meant having this woman at his side twenty-four seven like they were exclusive. She was class president, won Millennia's Teen Beauty Pageant two years running and voted Most Likely to Succeed and Become Famous this year.

And was desperate.

He warily rolled his eyes. Now that he thought about it, the only time he ever really saw her with Marik was when he was around and all things considered, Mazaki was indeed the type of person who would date someone else to get her crush jealous.

Why did he want to bed her again? Atemu hadn't the slightest idea. He despised petty crushes.

"Just checking my messages—oh look, we're here." He sighed in relief once they pulled into an empty lot and parked the car. He slipped out the driver's seat the same time Yugi did, both briefly staring at each other.

Yugi's eyes narrowed scornfully and he nestled both hands on his hips. "Are you going to behave?"

"_I_ wasn't the one making the car bounce," he dryly responded. Atemu smirked, watching as red surfaced across Yugi's nose. "Can I trust both of you to behave inside of the restaurant, or do I have to order two booster seats and bibs?"

Darkening, Yugi fiddled with the end of his shirt before helping Mana out of the car. Atemu did the same with Anzu, and as both girls skipped along ahead speaking of whoknowswhat, Yugi and he walked closely behind them. "You look nice tonight," he said quietly.

"So do you." Atemu laughed softly, running a hand through his unruly hair before turning back to the girls. He tensed when that same hand ended up bumping into something and glanced over. Yugi didn't seem to notice. Turning back, it wasn't too long before again, their hands were touching. He frowned. It wasn't as if it were a big deal…but…

"Are you so captivated by your date you can't walk straight?" the shorter asked playfully.

"Maybe I'm captivated by the fact the little frog who I live with suddenly turned into a cute Prince Charming." Atemu smirked and gently patted the shorter on the back. "You look good."

After that, Yugi had altogether silenced. Atemu, a little unsure of what he had done, reran the comment in his head and was pretty sure he hadn't outright insulted him. Oh, fuck.

"Yugi." Atemu touched the other's arm with a tidbit of concern. Immediately, Yugi tensed and Atemu internally beat himself up. "When I called you a frog—" _Whatthehellisheblushing?_ This time, he mentally slapped himself as he caught sight of the red teasing Yugi's cheeks. He'd been flirting. He'd been _flirting_! _God_, someone needed to control his hormones before they got him into some serious trouble.

Then again, he couldn't help but feel a bit…_flattered_ that Yugi was flustered because of one of his little comments. His reaction was different from most people, too. With many of the girls Atemu had dated, one little comment he said they thought it was the funniest damn thing in the world and insisted on some lame ass, high-pitched giggle. Yugi redder than his eyes was enough to keep him sane for the rest of the night. Hopefully.

--

This was…nice. Yup. Totally. Totally not…weird at all.

Yugi peered from his navi, silently cursing when Dark Magician Girl landed an attack on his monster. "Mana! That's _my_ Magician Valkyria!"

In an equally hushed tone, she arched an eyebrow and pouted. "Well it's not _my_ fault! There's one Valkyria on each side and since _you_ decided to spread your Kuriboh everywhere, it's kind of hard to tell when and where to attack!"

He frowned, suddenly regretting the fact they created an alliance between their two teams. In this battle; at least. Whoever they were battling, the other was _dominating._ With a heavy sigh he ordered an attack on the other's bug…thing. He shivered, eyes narrowed to the little critter once it exploded into little bytes and fragments before returning attention to the two other recipients on their date. Atemu was picking at his food, deep in thought while Anzu…Anzu, he miserably grumbled, was gazing at him with…with love.

Ugh. He was going to have to wash his mouth out with soap when they got home. "Mana," he whispered with a small smile. "Would you like to dance?"

His pretty date peered up from her navi screen, curiosity teeming until even the tips of her long locks before grinning. She abruptly stood up, alerting the attention of both Anzu and Atemu, and yanked violently at Yugi's arm. "Alright!"

Mana clung to his bare arm, hoodie having been discarded by the seats. She clasped both his hands on her waist and let out a low whistle. "I don't think Mister Grumpy and Snow White are getting along very well."

"Funny. Here I thought out of all the seven dwarves Grumpy liked her best." Yugi arched an eyebrow, cautiously bringing Mana close as he glanced back to Atemu and Anzu. Red skidded across his cheeks as he watched his crush's gaze at him and disappeared as soon as the very same person dragged his housemate to the dance floor. With a soft sigh, he rolled his eyes. After all, why would Anzu look at _him_?

The last time they'd seen each other before this school year started was in the sixth grade. During the summer for the two weeks here, the guys had taken up all his time—not that he complained. Still, he had hoped that…that she would at least _look_ at him.

"Holding up well?"

"Wh-what? Yeah." Yugi snapped out of his thoughts, eyes landing to the emerald orbs of his date. A light grin laced his lips and he mimicked most of Mana's enthusiastic movements. "Thanks for doing this, by the way. I know you'd rather be at home and…"

"Doing the exact same thing?" Mana arched a pleasant eyebrow, grinning from cheek-to-cheek as she gestured to the navi clipped to her waist. "Please. Do understand that my lifelong goal, Yugi Mutou, is to defeat you in a game of Online Dueling."

"That can't be your lifelong goal." He laughed, "We haven't known each other long."

"Ah, young one with tricolored hair." Mana halted for a moment and pointed a finger to the ceiling. She delightfully giggled. "The time you know a person has absolutely nothing to do with how close you can be or think you might be."

"Oh, really?" Yugi arched an eyebrow, smile spread across his face as he returned focus to dancing. "I think I would rather be with someone I've known for a year than someone who I've met just a day ago."

She blinked, clasping a hand around Yugi's neck. "Well, yeah…but what if that person you knew for a year was some super mean bully and the person from a day ago offered a roof over your head and a warm smile?"

Yugi lightly stiffened, eyes connecting with his dance partner. Slowly, they drifted to the mob far away from them where Atemu was observing as Anzu danced to her heart's content. He bit his lip, vision resting only on that crimson-eyed teenager and every muscle visible under the dark shirt. To the tips of his ears, Yugi felt the blush rising and shivered.

Wasn't that a little weird? Atemu was a little of…both. He was both a bully and very nice to him. The same person who had all of the petty minions shoving him in lockers, depantsing him and throwing his books off the seventh floor of Puzzle High also convinced him to stay home all week and cooked so many hamburgers for him that Yugi was almost sick of them. And…he wasn't sick of them because it was Atemu.

Despite the fact his first instinct was to help someone, it would never go this far. Unless…they were his friend. Atemu and he were friends. Yugi felt his cheeks blaze under the strobe lights—_strobe lights_? Last time he checked, they were in some fancy Mexican joint for salsa dancing. When the hell did Lady Gaga and disco sticks get involved?

He arched a wary eyebrow, unclasping grasp with Mana long enough to guide her back to their table and set both of them down. Mana looked as uncomfortable as Yugi had felt. He grimaced, pushing a long blond bang behind his ear long enough to apologetically smile. "Sorry about all of this."

"WHAT?" Mana gestured to her navi, immediately tapping all the keys.

At the inaudible ring of the Pokemon theme song, Yugi looked down and read the message.

_Mana – __**Want some earplugs?**_

She stared at him with anticipation once he looked back up, one hand stretched out and revealing two baby blue plugs that ironically, matched with her dress. Yugi shivered, instantly popping both in and leaned back in his seat. A quiet groan left his throat and into muffled music as he tapped the random buttons in his inbox.

_Yugi – __**I'm so sorry about this.**_

_Mana – __**What? No! It's fine, it's fine!**_

_Yugi – __**Seriously? **_

_Mana – __**Well…no. But that doesn't mean that we were doing anything. Just online dueling.**_

_Yugi – __**When did you put those ear plugs in, anyway?**_

_Mana – __**When you were ogling my best friend?**_

Yugi's breath hitched. Red grazed his demeanor and he looked up to the mischievous emerald eyes staring with utter amusement. "I'm not…I mean…I wasn't…" He sorta was. He kinda was. He meant… Not that Mana could hear him over Brittney Spears, anyway. Instead, his eyes travelled to the mob of people on the dance floor, all parading around whoever was in the middle and Atemu was nowhere to be seen. And…neither was Anzu.

_Probably going to makeout somewhere._ He begrudgingly rolled his eyes, immediately notifying Mana via navi that he was going to the restroom, and grazed across the crazy dance floor to get to his destination. Yugi wasn't ogling Atemu. He…he just wasn't.

So why was his face still burning from that cheesy comment of being Prince Charming? Yugi groaned, cursing his decreasing testosterone and rising estrogen levels about one Atemu Yamino. It was very much like Atemu to do something in order to catch someone off guard, but during school, the other never abruptly stood up before class, approached a girl and started flirting. It was the exact opposite, actually, with how so many girls would come up to the distracted 'King' and attempt to converse with him.

One way or another they miraculously got a date and Atemu would offer a smile or two, but… never any _outright _flirting. Yugi's face grew hotter as he finally succeeded in finding the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe. Atemu Yamino had been teasing _him._ Of course, he had started it, trying to create some sort of conversation after they kept bumping into each other and ultimately, Yugi was trying to resist the irritable scratching at his nerves wailing he should just hold Atemu's hand.

Two things were wrong with that. Yugi was still messing with the sudden intake of estrogen and Atemu had gone out on a date with a girl. With the one he'd been pining for ever since fourth grade, no less! He was a jealous mess, no matter which gender.

With a quiet moan, he leaned against the ridiculously large mirror taking up over half the men's room and ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe…" the teen whispered as he turned around and pulled excess hair away from his eyes. "Maybe, just the _slightest_ bit, I'm attracted to him."

This was…weird. All of it was…horrible. At the pit of his stomach he couldn't help but feel like twice a hypocrite. It wasn't a good idea to fall for someone who could get someone else to give him a wedgie in the matter of seconds. Then again, it also felt a bit...inevitable to have some sort of attraction to Atemu Yamino. So far of what he'd seen from his group versus Atemu's, there was an undeniable attraction between all of them. The way Malik and Marik conversed Monday night at the movies, how Seto was so concerned about Jou's condition…

All he needed to know was how Ryou and Bakura played into all of this. And…_God_, he couldn't be attracted to Atemu! Yugi groaned, ruffling the tresses of his hair violently as he stared at himself in the mirror. That would have…just…made him seem like another fan.

He turned his attention to the door as it opened and felt all heat run up his spine. With a small smile, Yugi did his best to laugh. "Having a fun time?"

Atemu said something…inaudible.

"Wait, hold on." Yugi pulled both plugs out of his ears and genuinely smiled to his housemate. "You were saying?"

The other only snorted, one hand running through his hair as he calmly and coolly seethed. "Just…looking for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

The other closed the door behind him, rolling his eyes irritably before taking a secure spot next to Yugi. The shorter teenager immediately stiffened, feeling the red spike up his neck and looked to the ground in order to distract himself. Marble flooring was nice. They were…marble-y and had a bathroom-y kind of feel. Atemu's bathroom had a marble floor.

Ah, fudge.

"God, it's like I can't keep _up_ with her." At the low, sensational grumble, Yugi tingled with a sort of delight, curling fists against the wood and looked to the side. Atemu kept his eyes closed, occasionally flinching when the music suddenly exploded into a loud crescendo before dying out again.

Yugi smiled sympathetically to the other's frustration. He never really did like loud music, nor did he really soak any fun from Kate Perry, Lady Gaga, or Brittney Spears. "I could have sworn this place was opening for festive salsa. Not…well, whatever's going on out there."

"Oh, it's both. _She_ paid the owner some money to change the music up and do whatever she wants." If the music hadn't been so loud, Yugi could have sworn Atemu had shivered and mumbled something about violent jiggling and gargantuan time bombs. He rolled his eyes, one hand nestled at his hip as the other reached for his navi to check the time. "God dammit! We all know she's Little Miss Perfect—she gotta show it off, too?"

"Hey," Yugi frowned, eyes narrowing to his housemate. "Don't talk about her like that."

He was ready to recoil and flinch at the violent aggression that was signature to Atemu Yamino, but was surprised when there wasn't any. Instead, Atemu sighed, cursing under his breath as he moved to wash his hands. "Sorry. I just…don't know what you see in her."

"What I see in her?"

"I'm sure it isn't the first time someone's noticed how much you like her." Atemu's eyes narrowed victoriously at the pink glistening against Yugi's demeanor before softly laughing. "Alright. I trust you, Yugi, to have good taste in girls despite the fact I've seen more skin tonight than I have on Paris Hilton."

"Oh, uh…" Yugi's cheeks flamed and he looked to the ground. "She doesn't…normally dress like that. I swear."

"Yeah. Just trying to dress like that so she can impress me."

"Arrogant, much?"

"Most girls do it." Atemu eyed him, daring for his housemate to say any more to protect his date. When there wasn't another word, he took it as a sign to continue. "I'm not the only one that this happens to—it's typical behavior from girls like this. Marik and Bakura would be willing to vouch for me; it's happened to them too."

Yugi's eyebrows furrowed, his instinct of defending his friends faltering to the insistence in Atemu's tone. "What do you mean?"

"Obviously," the other said with a wry snort, "my friends and I aren't the friendliest bunch in the lot, if you haven't noticed. But those around us take that one quality about us that they insist is the best and push us into the rank we are now. That's why we're always on top. Then, these girls create some sort of image of us in their head—whatever the fuck it is—and go with it. Trading in Seto's aloofness and cold demeanor, transferring it into shyness, Marik's dry humor in an attempt to be funny or Bakura's little kleptomania into some tragic fake ass past."

"And you?" Yugi fingered one of his belt loops and frowned. Anzu wasn't like that. Anzu…Anzu was proud and headstrong; she knew exactly what to say and if there wasn't something she liked, Anzu would let the person know.

"The hell if I know. Mazaki in her right mind thinks I'm some bad boy with some hidden potential." Atemu laughed bitterly and shook his head. "For some reason or another, girls think that they can _change_ me, like I'm some sort of…some injured puppy who doesn't want anyone to touch it. I'd bet my car to say she dressed like a fucking slut tonight just to get into my pants before 'getting to my heart.'"

"You're wrong!" At the sudden anger, Atemu had recoiled, red eyes widening in surprise as he was shoved into a wall. Yugi's eyes narrowed daringly, a growl heard violently under his breath. He fumed red, all aggravation directed at the tan mess in front of him. "Anzu is _not_ a slut! She's the nicest, prettiest person that you'll ever meet and you should feel _lucky _that you're dating someone like her! That she's…that she's giving you a second chance!"

All of it disappeared as soon as his housemate flashed a look of confusion that soon morphed into outright concern. "Yu…gi…," he grumbled quietly.

Wait…what was he doing? Yugi tore away from his prey, suddenly overwhelmed by the anger. He ran a hand through his hair, heart trembling with fear as he rushed toward the door. Before Atemu had the chance to catch up with him, Yugi was already far off, swept in his thoughts about Anzu and his…his slip of emotions. That normally didn't happen. Hell, that _never_ happened! And to Atemu, no less!

Yugi groaned, clutching his head as he covered his eyes from the strobe lights. It wasn't like him to get angry, even when it came to protecting his friends. Outright arguing yes, but never resulting in physical violence. He plopped down next to Mana, gulping down as much coke as his stomach would let him before returning a glance to the concern radiating across her demeanor.

"You okay?" She sympathetically smiled.

"N-No, I-I j-j-just…." Fuck. Why was he stammering? Yugi shivered despite the humidity and had half a mind to peel off the white shirt. "I yelled at Atemu."

"You did _what_?" Mana stood from her seat, eyes wider than their platter and frowned. "That's not like you."

"I _know_, but…," he sputtered. But what? The more time he spent here the more he was getting…_emotionally attached._ The two words racked his brain long enough and his fists curled into the balls of his knees. This wasn't him. This…this wasn't like him. Yugi stood abruptly in his seat, Mana soon following with a hand rested on his shoulder. He had to go. He had to—

"Have you guys seen Atemu?" Then again, out of nowhere, it was likely for Anzu to appear. Yugi flinched, the sudden sugary tone consuming his ears as he peered up to his longtime, brunette crush. She cutely pouted, both hands behind her as she bent over to Yugi's height. "This…just isn't my night, you know? I figured he'd be so swept in that…"

"Yeah." Yugi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he yanked at his friend's arm and dragged her to the dance floor. "Let's dance."

Anzu blinked, blue eyes shimmering with curiosity, but obliged. With a wild grin she swayed her hips to the beat of Rihanna, Yugi following in suit. He smiled, watching as the earlier honey attitude of his friend melt into her usual attitude of carefree dancing. What had bothered Atemu so much about her? Anzu was…she was perfect. She excelled in everything she did and when it wasn't her forte, Anzu racked her brain and dug deeper until she came out, winning.

She was sweet and angelic, knowing what to say to make everyone happy and was truthful at all times. Anzu was…amazing. He blushed as the dark azure orbs landed on his form, the music slipping into something much slower. She relaxed, awkwardly clasping both arms around Yugi's neck.

"I like this song," she whispered.

"Yeah," he agreed slowly, eyes falling to the ground. "This song is really sweet." _It's exactly how I feel about you, too._

"Oh, this date is going horribly wrong, Yugi!" Anzu ran a hand through her hair, perfectly rolling her eyes and beautifully pouting. "I guess I suck at conversing, huh?"

"No, no!" Yugi's eyes widened and he held her tight with a frown settled across his features. "You're doing perfectly fine, Anzu. Atemu is just a little…grumpier than most." _And a total douche for misjudging you._

"No, really!" She sighed exasperatedly and loosely laughed. "I dunno. Thanks for being here for me, Yugi. I guess it's really just my own fault—him ditching me in the first place must have been his way of telling me that we weren't meant to be. I just…thought he was different, you know?"

"He _is_ different, Anzu." Yugi rolled his eyes this time, feeling utmost sympathy for his friend and…complete rage for his housemate. How? Just…just _how_ could he be so flippant, one day showing Yugi himself how nice he could by wrapping his injured feet, yet revert back into a jerk in front of his Anzu? Yugi cursed himself, red tingling his cheeks. Anzu wasn't his. "He's a guy that decided it'd be nice to date you and then suddenly bails out and fizzles before he gets the chance to know you."

"I thought he was the one!" she wailed on. Anzu's voice deteriorated, softly disappearing into injured echoes as the tears began to appear in her eyes. "I could have sworn….the way he smiles at me whenever we're at school or how he's always the one to pick up my pencil. Yugi, whenever I look into his eyes, he just makes me feel special."

"Looks can fool you." Ouch. He felt the jealousy and pain burn in his chest, quickly regretting the choice of pulling Anzu onto the dance floor. He wanted to be there and comfort her, but…hearing her talk about another guy wasn't exactly how he imagined this date to go. "Sometimes," he choked with a broken heart, "sometimes the person you're looking for is right in front of you, Anzu. Like it's so obvious that they're the one, they're the furthest from your mind."

"Yeah…I know." She let out a regretful sigh and smiled genuinely to the short teenager. "I don't suppose I'd ever have a chance with someone like you though, huh?"

Wait, what? Yugi's eyes widened, looking back to the saddened expression crossing his crush's face. Heat flourished Yugi's features. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know." Anzu flashed a cheerful grin. "Any girl would be lucky to have you as your boyfriend. You're just so sweet and sympathetic."

"O-Oh… Gee, thanks." He hid his smile, shyly looking away as red tingled his cheeks. This was it. Her honesty, her kindness…the fact Anzu always looked for the good in people. That was the reason why he fell for her in the first place. And he'd let Atemu take all the glory, take her away from him. He shut his eyes, shivering as his heart swelled with anger and jealousy.

For so long now, everyone had been stomping at his chest, scraping away every bit of trust and hope he had of making friends. It had been the reason why he bounced from house to house; unable to develop the "emotional attachment" he mentioned earlier when living at any of his other houses. Millennia—_Grandpa's place_—was the only _home_ he ever felt whenever coming here. When first offered the chance to represent his grandfather, he jumped at it.

Anything for his grandfather. The only true emotional attachment he ever had was his grandfather…later Jou, and then all of them. Because he'd been so shy and reluctant at school, Yugi assumed he would never really find a girl to fall for, but…here she was, now. That beautiful, gorgeous girl he'd had feelings for ever since the fourth grade. Maybe longer.

"Actually, Anzu…"

"Oh?" She flashed a look of concern, chaste smile across those lips as she bent to his height. "What is it?"

"I've…," he stammered nervously. "I've been in love with you ever since we first met. Y-You're the perfect girl and if Atemu can't see that, then he d-damn well doesn't deserve you!" He clenched his eyes shut and awaited impact.

"Oh."

"O…oh?"

"Yugi…I…" She sighed, suddenly pulling away and ultimately from the grip Yugi had over her waist. Tensely, Anzu laughed and fiddled with a spare strand of hair that'd gotten loose while dancing and she shifted between her feet. "You can't be serious, right? I mean…You're just joking…out of all the years that I've known you, back and forth and emailing, it was like emailing a younger brother—"

Oh.

"—and…well, you're so _tiny_, and never in my mind have I—"

"Yeah." Yugi forced a smile, looking back up to his housemate's date and rubbing his head. He rubbed his arm, savoring the spot where she had just touched him. "I'm just kidding around, silly. I dunno, you needed some cheering up and hearing that from a guy and all…a-and I-I'm here with M-Mana…and…stuff…"

"Oh…" He really wished the music was loud enough so he didn't hear that sigh of relief. Anzu clasped a hand over her chest, smile beaming from cheek-to-cheek as she pulled Yugi back into a hold. "You two are a really cute couple, you know."

"Th-Thanks." God, he wanted to cry. Yugi blinked away the hint of tears, smile across his lips as they turned again. "So…why are you so determined to be Atemu's girlfriend, anyway?"

"What? Oh…I dunno." She dreamily sighed and shrugged. "Doesn't it seem like we would be the perfect couple though? He's the hottest guy in school—not even a _jock_, but he's got muscles from doing _something_—and I'm class president, main character in the next musical…voted Pageant Queen…and he's so aloof. So apathetic, you know? But he has so much potential and everything that if I could convince him to use his powers for good, he'd do it! He could really be amazing, and I figured…if I dressed like _this_ first, I would get his attention and then his heart."

"Ah." So she had dressed so slutty, so _degradingly_ just to get Atemu's attention. She had changed the music. To get Atemu's attention. And…it'd been like he said. Anzu was trying to change him, pressing on her own little image of what Atemu really was like and going for shallow reasons to know his housemate, only enticed by the _image_ of Atemu. Not…not who he really was.

Yugi cursed, but she was so busy declaring her love for Atemu that it went unnoticed. Yugi had been wrong. Atemu was right.

--

**Author's Note:**

Whew, alrighty. This is a sad chapter, now isn't it? Anzu is a bit…overused like a lot of stories, I know, but that's sadly something that's a bit inevitable. Well, actually it could be avoided, but let's not think about that. :D; She's in character and I particularly think this is how she would react if confronted by Anzu. Without…gargantuan Amazon ticking timebombs. Or with. You choose. I dunno; she actually used to be my favorite character when I was little; but that's shifted to Mana now. Anyway, I finally got my laptop back and it's up and running. :D Reviews would be nice!


	8. Too Close to Me

--

**Chapter 8: **Too Close to Me

**--**

"You're serious."

"Fucking…when am I not serious?"

"All the damn time. But considering you're cackling right now, I'm not quite sure you—fuck, Bakura! Put a damn shirt on!" Atemu slapped a hand across his face, outrageously groaning and asked the Gods why he had been damned with a friend like this moron. His eyes narrowed daringly to the white-haired teenager entertaining himself with a well-done steak Atemu was sure had been stolen.

Bakura sniggered, tearing off strips of meat to put between his teeth (oh, yuck), visibly squeezing it with his tongue and gulped loudly. Ugh, Atemu thought, instinctively wrapping an arm around his stomach. _Nasty._ With no doubt, Bakura recognized his queasiness and snickered louder, sauce exploding left and right through chortles of amusement. "You are such a fucking pansy!"

"Pansy my ass," Atemu growled with frustration. He ran a cool hand through his hair and with a green face, reminded himself how he'd gotten into this wild predicament. Yugi slammed him into a wall; fury wildly set in his demeanor and practically demanded Atemu's head. Fortunately, the little one had realized pretty quickly what he was about to do, and with enraged orbs, stormed off. Which left Atemu dumbfounded and shocked, because although Yugi had asserted himself, he assumed it would take longer than—he checked his navi—a week.

And then he found Bakura having the time of his life, chomping on, although yummy meat to the klepto, gloriously traumatizing steak to Atemu's mind that reminded him about the spontaneous combustion of his pet turtle. Bakura had apparently been sneaking through the air vents and spying on Atemu's date with the smallish one.

Unfortunately, that flat out meant that Bakura had witnessed the humiliating sight of Yugi slamming Atemu into a wall. With a haughty groan, Atemu rolled his eyes and cringed as bits and pieces of meat exploded between Bakura's teeth. Grimace set across his lips, the dark-eyed teenager flinched as his friend thoroughly cracked his knuckles. "Did you even pay for that steak?"

"No," blissfully said his friend. Bakura cracked a grin. "But if you're that frustrated tonight, go ahead and pay for me."

"Oh, you better be fucking kidding." Atemu sneered and dragged the large abomination from his relaxed place in the bathroom stall. A scowl ripped through his lips and he pointed toward the door. "Leave. Before I fucking make you."

"Uh, earth to Mister Wad-in-Ass," Bakura slapped his best friend upside the head, Cheshire grin spread across his lips as bits of steak splattered across Atemu's face. "You already _are_ trying to make me."

"Because, you fucking…_Go_ then!" Atemu seethed, quickly wiping the said meat off the bridge of his nose while resiliently shoving Bakura toward the door. No such luck. The other stopped him in his tracks, having the advantage of being taller and much bigger as he shoved his foot into the door frame and assumed a throne on his friend's head.

"Ow! Fuck, anyone ever tell you how damn pointy your hair is? You could poke an eye out!" Bakura sniggered, demonstrating his point by yanking at one of Atemu's black tresses. The smaller wriggled, flailed and yelled.

"Fucking—Bakura, get your damn ass off my ear!"

"Hey," the other teenager casually replied, "you check the list lately?"

Atemu halted. His friend slid off his head and rested on his back while Atemu struggled to flop on his bottom. He reached for the navi sticking out of his pocket and grimaced. "No. Why?"

"Your new boytoy's skyrocketed." Bakura fluidly snatched the device from his friend's hand and grinned as the grouchy teenager once again struggled to break free. Successfully, he managed to open up the so-called app invented by friend and cousin, Seto Kaiba, and shoved it in Atemu's face.

The temperamental Atemu paused. Freeing an arm from Bakura's rather large _pain in the ass_ bottom, he grasped it and quieted. "He broke top ten."

"You bet your damn as he did." Bakura ruthlessly slapped the said-ass, which earned a mortified yelp from Atemu and more struggling. "Now, check his friends."

Katsuya Jonouchi, Ryou Inoue and Malik Ishtar. Atemu tapped all of them and froze. "They…all broke top fifty."

"Yes! Now the shithead knows what's going on in his kingdom!" With a mellow crack, Bakura straightened himself on top of Atemu's stomach and crossed his legs. A frown spread across his face and he looked to the smaller expectantly. "It's been like that ever since you wanted to stop using him as a target."

"What do you mean?" Atemu long gave up from getting away from his friend and lay there, uncomfortably propped on his elbows and staring at the screen held out to him.

"_Think_ about it, you royal ass." Bakura smacked the other teen's forehead and looked at him expectantly. "This is the first person you've ever repealed your targeting business over. You made a declaration on Monday and demanded he was 'off limits.' As soon as those words left your mouth, he went from juggling ninetieth to a hundredth place to nine to ten."

"You're kidding." Atemu flatly narrowed his eyes and arched an eyebrow. "What does my word have to do with any—OW. Did you just hit me?! Tell me you didn't just hit me!"

"Okay." Bakura slapped him again and ignored the piercing screech and string of curses that left Atemu's lips. Instead, he leaned over and pressed his elbow into the shorter's head. "Don't think we're stupid, moron. Seto, Marik and I know how lovey-dovey you're getting about this."

"I am _not_ getting lovey-dovey about him!" Atemu rolled around, successfully pressing his stomach to the ground, but unable to get the other off him entirely. They took little notice of the many men who scurried in and out the bathroom.

"Ah, you're getting through the first stage rather well, now aren't you?" The other mockingly snorted like a nerd and spanked a ripe tushie. As Atemu squeaked and tried to break free, Bakura only grinned and waited for him to cease. "So," he said steadily, "I never thought I'd see the day _you_ out of all of us would go soft. You're the last one, too."

Atemu failed, knowing there was no avail and lay his head in his arms. He frowned and silenced.

Bakura continued, this time smiling a little. "I'm not kidding, dipshit. All week you've been smiling more and always looking at your navi." No reply? Good. "And all I see during history is you and Mutou exchanging looks without the other noticing. You know as well as I do how bad Seto's got it for Jonouchi. Unfortunately, he messed it up big time during the sixth grade."

The other teenager nonchalantly shrugged. He recalled that event pretty well, how Seto got himself in that predicament.

"And then there's Malik, who Marik is all hung up over since pre-K. I think the blame's on me for that one, right? Oh, or was it you?" Bakura amused himself and poked at the hedges of black hair in front of him. He shrugged and slapped Atemu's ass once again in attempt to get his attention. Atemu flinched. "Alright. Now point out the last one. Tell me how big of a douche I am."

Curling his fists, Atemu uncomfortably rolled around and dealt with the larger teenager sitting on his torso. He grouchily crossed his arms and eyed Bakura. The fiasco with Bakura was more recent than the ones with Marik and Seto. He knew very well the other pain in the ass was thinking deeply about what happened freshman year and how it blew up in his face. With a sigh, Atemu tore away from the last bit of his humanity and propped himself on his elbows.

"You knew this was going to happen eventually, weren't you?"

"Oh, hell no. I didn't expect you to fall for someone as wussy-like as Yugi Mutou—fuck! Don't hit me again!" Bakura seethed and grabbed his arm where he was just punched and arched an amused eyebrow. "But Seto seems to have taken a small liking to him and Marik is pretty interested in the fact that a hothead like Malik holds him in such high regard."

"You'd like him too if you gave him a chance." Atemu wryly chuckled and eyed the door. His heart broke in two as he was reminded of the fact that he let his anger get out of control and therefore, sparked Yugi's. He felt like an idiot, really, for thinking Yugi would stay submissive as he normally did and would listen to his rant. If there were any prominent feature about Yugi, it'd be his sense of loyalty to his friends. That meant all of his friends.

So despite all of Atemu's claims after finally blowing up about how Anzu wanted to get to his heart by getting into his pants, Yugi would have sympathized more with Anzu and be overturned by anger for his friend being called a…a slut. How long had Anzu and he known each other, anyway? Far longer than the measly month Yugi knew _him._

Perhaps he misjudged just a bit. Or, Atemu groused as he eyed his best friend who was now using his butt as a plate for his steak, he misjudged a _lot_. Despite the oddities of one of his best friends, Bakura proved to be a good source for information, prodding and pretty damn well sneaking out. He'd rob all the riches of an Egyptian Pharaoh's tomb and come out with minimal scratches if given the chance. Of course, Bakura was as loyal as Yugi was. He'd never leave completely and of course always had his reasoning.

Fuck, Atemu scowled. If he could deal with Bakura's ass on his ear for a total of twenty minutes, then he could damn well deal with his supposed date.

"Bakura," he grumbled as he struggled free. "Get off my fucking ass before I make you."

"Again, O Wise One, aren't you _making me_, right now?" Bakura grinned and pulled the grumpy teenager to his feet. He stood up, half-eaten steak in hand and watched silently as Atemu dusted dirt off his pants. "So tell me, Atemu. What is it about this brat that makes you head over heels?"

"I am _not_ head over heels." Scowling, Atemu stuffed his hands into his pockets and thought about the question more. There was a lot about one Yugi Mutou that made him the coolest kid on the face of this Earth. He was sweet….remarkable…witty…playful. Large…adorable violet eyes he could just melt in—_godhewassuchacreeper!_

Indignantly slapping his face, Atemu rubbed his temples and felt his cheeks burn.

"Good. You're thinking about it." Bakura slapped his friend on the back genuinely and crossed his arms. "But you already utterly pissed him off. Better hurry up and apologize."

Atemu snorted. "You saw how he reacted—I really doubt that anything I did would get me an apology." With a frustrated sigh, he ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the large mirror. He lost count of how many feet were shoved in his mouth after the fifteenth. Dealing with someone so…so _sensitive_ and…and…_fluffy _was real torture.

Bakura smirked sympathetically and roughly patted his friend on the back. "He's a keeper, you know."

"…yeah." Atemu smiled a little bit and sadly sighed. He crossed his arms and looked toward the door that would lead to his ultimate doom. "I know."

"So…you gonna pay for my steak?"

"Fuck no."

--

How was he going to do this? There wasn't any possible way on _earth_ that Atemu would forgive him without one of those smirks and 'I told you so' glints. With a silent groan, Yugi elegantly twirled Anzu, clumsily standing at the tips of his toes in order for the tall girl to succeed. He bit his lip, cheeks flurrying red as he thought of the best times to apologize to his housemate—_like, now_—and sighed.

It was rare for his pride to act up. In Yugi's mind, there was only one method to dealing with things—clean, cut, and precise. Keep it clean, keep it snippy, and make sure to be surprised by nothing. He wanted to come to Millennia. So he did. He wanted to stay at Jou's house, so he did. He wanted to apologize to Atemu, but he couldn't. Somewhere in the middle of saying "I'm so, so sorry", there was this gnawing gibberish that was going, "I'm so—_blargh-ga-blarga-blarga_" and he couldn't seem to vocalize his guilt.

And funnily enough, he was more concerned about apologizing to Atemu than he was about getting his heart stomped o—oh wait, there it was. His heart twitched uncomfortably and Yugi stopped from dancing. He stared at the ground, biting his lip and feeling like the biggest loser on this planet. There was no other sensation to describe it. After all, the smart girl he'd been pining over ever since they were little; the girl he always looked forward to seeing whenever visiting Grandpa in Millennia every summer turned him down and thought it was a big joke.

Big joke, his as—

"Yugi," she asked kindly. "Is something the matter?"

"Nah, just a little parched." He cleared his throat in order to prove his point and slowly backed away with a small smile. "I'll um, go see if I can find Atemu for you, Anzu. And I really need something to drink."

"Oh." She nodded carefully and continued dancing to Miley Cyrus. "Okay."

Seething, Yugi turned away and popped both ear plugs back in his ears. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and slowly waddled off the stage and back to where Mana sat, happily playing pokemon on her navi.

He blinked, peering over her shoulder. "You named your pikachu Jesus?"

Mana grinned and took one of the plugs out of her ears. "What'd you say?"

He shook his head and plopped down on the seat next to her. Feebly, he began typing on his navi and looked to her expectantly after sending the message.

The smile across her face quickly disappeared and she typed back.

_Mana – __**I'm so sorry. **_

_Yugi – __**It's fine. Just me being an idiot. **_

"OW! What was that for?!" Yugi lightly groaned, gingerly rubbing his cheek and glaring at the girl who just slapped him. In an instant, Mana stood from her chair and swooped him in a hug. She forcefully yanked the plugs in both of Yugi's ears along with her own and glared at him.

"THAT'S NOT FINE!" Mana yelled over the music. "SHE DECIDED TO DUMP YOU AND DIDN'T EVEN CONSIDER YOUR FEELINGS! AND, AND, AND, SHE WAS MORE RELIEVED THAN SHE WAS ANNOYED THAT YOU WERE 'JUST KIDDING.'"

Yugi winced. Glancing over to the friend who now had a deathly grip over his neck, he quickly typed out a message on the navi. She obliged and read it, but the results were still the same.

Mana grabbed him by the shoulders and violently shook him. "JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE WRONG DOESN'T MEAN THAT ATEMU WON'T FORGIVE YOU! HAVEN'T YOU SEEN HOW FOND HE IS OF YOU?!"

Yugi gritted his teeth and attempted to wriggle out of Mana's grasp. No avail. "Mana, I—"

"WHAT?"

"_Mana,_ maybe it's best if we just email each—"

"_WHAT? I CAN HEAR YOU OVER THE MUSIC!_"

He sighed in exasperation and tapped buttons on his navi.

"…oh." Mana kindly picked herself off of her friend's body and sat parallel to him, a look of obedience finally crossing her features.

_Mana – __**Did you manage to hear anything that I said? **_

_Yugi – __**I'm not sure. My ears still hurt from your yelling at me.**_ Yugi eyed her wryly and smiled at the sheepish grin that crossed her lips.

Mana arched an eyebrow.

_Mana – __**You don't LOOK like you just got your heart ripped out, split and tattered into two. **_

_Yugi – __**Yeah, I'm a little more occupied with um…other stuff.**_ He sat back in his seat, hand running through his hair. A frown settled upon his lips. How on earth was he supposed to apologize to someone without injuring his pride?

"Hey."

"Bah!" Yugi jumped from his seat, instinctively flinching and colliding faces with the person in front of him. The other hissed, clutching his forehead in sync with Yugi grabbing his nose. "Thanks," Yugi snapped flatly. Just the perfect way to end the perfect evening: with a broken nose and sneezing blood-boogers everywhere.

"Aww, Atemu, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. And you?"

God dammit. Yugi took the tissue offered out to him and pressed it tightly to his nose. His head hovered airily as he looked through his eyes and noticed the stoic demeanor of the only crimson-eyed teenager known in Millennia. He sighed, pride slowly shrinking as he looked away.

"I'm fine," Anzu cheerfully replied and clung tighter to Atemu's arm. The other smiled gently and shook his head. What the hell, Yugi bitterly grumbled, was with the fucking change of attitude?

"Actually, Anzu," Atemu said without hitch and in perfect tone, "I was talking to Yugi. I think he knows as well as I do how hard of a head I have, but considering the blood, I'd say it was a bit _too_ hard."

If that was an attempt to make him laugh—well, Atemu was damn well succeeding. Yugi stiffened, tightly holding his lip and resisting the tears to water from his eyes. Despite Anzu's earlier claims about how sweet and delicate of a person his housemate could be, both boys knew Atemu had an ego larger than the continent of Russia.

He resisted all urge to smile and looked over to Mana in desperate attempt for help, but she only looked between both boys, bit her lip, and returned to Jesus, the docile Pikachu. "I'm fine," he grumbled quietly.

This wasn't right. He should have apologized by now. Unfortunately he already told Jou, Malik, and Ryou that he wouldn't need a place to stay and that of course, implied that going back to the Yamino Residence after their not-a-date. Unfortunately, it did not imply nor suggest that he would be ramming the hottest teenager in Millennia into a bathroom mirror and lashing out the last sixteen years of pent-up frustration.

But this wasn't the normal kind of guilt. Why _was_ he feeling guilty anyway? He was rightfully angry for how his housemate lashed out at one of his best girl friends, but he was…_sickeningly_ right in saying Anzu's right of mind was kind of sort of…shallow.

It was a pride thing. Yugi's cheeks flared and he studied the décor of their table. Having an issue with his pride and downsizing it was _certainly_ not clean, snippy, OR precise. In fact, it was the exact opposite! Oh…gosh. Oh gosh. This city _was_ changing him. No more…no more just saying yes to Father whenever he forcefully suggested to leave the household. No more going along with Mom's antics in order to impress some busybody and getting a job. No more…no more passive aggressiveness when eying his brother and sitting in his room, atrophying until the next day came.

Oh God. Staying with Atemu was making him develop a personality!

"SO ARE YOU UP FOR IT, YUGI?"

"Bwa?" Yugi snapped out of his shocking thoughts and looked up, eyes widening in surprise as Mana leaned over with hands pressed to his lap. A smile beamed across her face and she gestured to Atemu and Anzu, who humiliatingly watched him and expected an answer. "Up for what?"

"Going to the mall." Anzu smiled adorably and soothingly took away the napkin pressed against his nose before replacing it with a handkerchief stuffed in her chest. With an incoherent blush, Yugi looked her in the eye and urged her to continue. "We can hang out at the arcade and then go see Valentine's Day. Don't you think that would be fun?"

"I…er…" Heck no. Yugi sneakily glanced at a distracted Atemu and then back to the sparkling blue eyes he could never seem to resist. Those oblivious pools flickered curiously and she genuinely grinned before allowing Mana to hold the handkerchief in place on Yugi's nose. He wanted to go home and die in a hole. A date with rejection needn't go longer than the confession, did it? B-But the way she was just smiling…and how c-cute she looked… "Okay," he breathed lightheadedly.

Mana eyed him expectantly, frown tightly laced across her lips before she dryly shook her head and patted him sympathetic on the shoulder. "You know," she whispered, "You do a lousy job at saying no."

"…and why," he whispered back while Atemu sighed and took out his keys, "did you find it necessary to just scream at me all evening?"

She grinned. "Yugi, I'm loud. Not stupid."

That being said, Mana gracefully stood up and tugged at Anzu's arm to usher the other girl toward the car. With a mischievous wink left behind, Yugi was left sitting there alone, bloody handkerchief pressed awkwardly to his nose while his housemate watched.

A grimace left Atemu's lips and his eyes narrowed before he bent down and observed the wound himself. "Guess I wasn't kidding about my hard head then, huh?"

Yugi snapped out of his thoughts and shrugged. "I guess."

Atemu brushed away the bangs from Yugi's forehead and forcefully yanked the handkerchief from Yugi's grasp. His eyes narrowed at the accidental wound and he tilted the shorter's head forward. "Nasty."

"You're making it worse," Yugi grumpily muttered. He attempted to sniffle then grimaced as the blood backed up and into the depths of his throat which was indeed, according to Atemu, _nasty._

The other smiled grimly before taking out a small packet of tissues and wadding it up before shoving it up Yugi's nostril. He gently pinched the bridge of his housemate's nostril and plunged his hand in ice water.

"Wut a' yoo do—" Yugi yelped as Atemu gracefully scooped Yugi off the chair and into his lap. Red fluttered across Yugi's face and he stiffened as his spare hand grazed the leather of the other teenager's pants.

Atemu didn't notice. Instead, his dripping wet hand appeared over the bridge of Yugi's nose, ice cube in hand before it was pressed between Yugi's eyes. "Take no offense to this, smart one," Atemu muttered softly once he secured himself, "but you're already really short and considering how much blood there is, you might get lightheaded by standing up."

…oh. Yugi caught the squeak daring to leave his mouth as the other teenager readjusted on his lap and grumbled something about "cursed white-haired minions." His cheeks flared again and he tensely rested against Atemu's chest. He felt more than saw the smile above him before the taller took Yugi's free hand and put it against the ice cube.

"Next time you have a bloody nose, do this instead of leaning your head back." Atemu gently slid away and helped the shorter teenager to his feet. He firmly grasped Yugi's shoulder and guided him through the dining hall with a cautious look. "Dipping your head with a bloody nose could actually cause the blood to go back and clog airflow."

Yugi slowly nodded and took in this new information, but had nothing to say about it. Instead, his eyes wandered elsewhere and he was reminded of the night when Atemu bandaged his feet. Instinctively, he curled his toes and felt the red across his face darken. Apparently, the Gods were determined to only have them cooperate when Yugi got injured by the hands of Atemu.

"…okay, I can understand that," Atemu whispered quietly as they got to the parking lot. The girls were waiting patiently by Atemu's car and conversing about whoknowswhat.

Understand what? Yugi's eyes widened and he looked over to Atemu. What on earth was he—?

"I'm sorry for giving you a bloody nose, Yugi." Crimson eyes closed for a moment and the taller teenager stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Fuck, I'm…sorry for everything. I can't seem to do anything right."

Oh. Yugi's eyes fell to the ground and felt his heart sink. Atemu shouldn't have been the one needing to feel guilty. Atemu shouldn't have been saying sorry. He was. That being said, Yugi's newfound pride drowned to the bottom of the ocean.

--

**Author's Note: **

Sorry for the long wait on this chapter. C: I'm glad I got so much feedback for it; it's fun to listen to all of your replies and of course, a lot of you said that Yugi would have to swallow up his pride and apologize. Unfortunately that's not the case, huh? I also wanna apologize for not replying to your reviews for the chapter before the last; I left right after posting the last one and after reposting it and seeing you guys have already reviewed, I wasn't sure what to do. xD; Anyway, thanks a lot and…reviews would be nice!


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